Chasing Dreams, Catching Nightmares
by DarkXIntimacy
Summary: Minka Maye wants nothing more than to start her own business in Diagon Alley, as well as forget about her dark past. Her world takes on a whole new adventure when her store is placed across the way from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes where the owner, George peaks interest. Minka finds herself on the brink of new love and dreams, or falling into old heart break and nightmares.
1. Chapter 1

**Puffs of Smoke**

**Note: Welcome to those new readers and welcome back to past readers of mine. As promised, I am creating a whole new series. I know what I want to do with this story from beginning to end so it will go much smoother. Postings of chapters will be frequent as well. Thank you for giving my writing a chance.**

Minka gave one final heave to the door and it cracked open with defeat. The hinges had grown so weary from rust that it wined in agony, echoing down the narrow street of Diagon Alley. People turned and watched as Minka took a few steps into the aged store that had been boarded up for years now.

She inhaled deeply from all the stress of practically knocking down the door, only to cough it back out. Dust swirled in the air as Minka continued to disturb the abandoned store.

The realtor had explained how it used to be a potions store. However it was all a front for the owner to sell dark magic. The place was eventually foreclosed on and had been deemed cursed. She had bought it without haste, eager to start her business as well as pounce at the low price of the building. Not that there was any bidding war for it.

She put her bag down on the counter which caused a splash of yet more dust particles to dance in the air. She waved it out of her face as her eyes began to focus on the dark space. The store was long and narrow, the front and the back of the store were the only places with windows, covered by peeling paper. The side walls held old candle holders with old wax completely caked along their rustic metal. At the very back of the store were a set of stairs that led up to a second story which Minka planned to use as an office as well as storage.

In the centre of the room-where Minka stood, there was a counter that stretched from the centre of the room to the one side of the room and curved along the wall for a few feet. An old cash register still sat in the centre of the counter. Minka tapped a few of the keys, and saw that it still seemed to function okay. All it needed was a little dusting.

Her day dreams of fixing the place were snapped shut as a loud bang occurred outside. She ran to the front of the store and ripped off some of the paper covering the window to pear outside. Some boys were out in the street, throwing little pebbles at each other which exploded in mid-air into flashes of sparks. She simply shook her head and continued to rip the paper off the windows. Light now beamed into the store, making it seem much less gloomy and eerie as it had looked before. She made a note that the first thing she would do-after a much needed dusting-was proper lighting.

Minka worked hard over the next two days to get her store ready. It had been a good time to set up since the Alley had closed for the weekend to set up for back to school time, which was always it's most aspiring time.

She managed to clear out all the dust and spiders that crept into every inch of the place and covered the walls with rich purple draping, and a few purple rugs were placed underneath displays. She managed to find some good candles that lit the store quite well. The store was always bright and beautiful in the early morning and in the evening when the sun would shine through either side. During mid-day was when the candles came in handy, as well as of course at night. She managed to set up her displays in the window and organize her stock around the room.

Everything had been set up and she was putting up the new sign of her store over the door, which read in gold cursive 'Minka's Dream Catchers'/ 'Where Dreams Are Designed By You.'

She had sent out an advertisement for it in the newspaper and the man she had spoken to at The Prophet showed great intrigue about the re-opening of the old store that he sought to have an article written. He said the article was to come out the morning of the big school rush of Diagon Alley, so that would hopefully mean a big turnout.

She opened the front door-now with ease-to head back in and grab her bag. It was all she could do before the opening tomorrow, and she felt the excitement swell in her belly as she thought of finally being able to sell her ideas.

.…Next Morning….

Minka stood in her store early the next morning. She had checked over her window display over a hundred times, making sure it looked perfect and eye catching. The sign in the window read 'Need more free time? Study in your sleep!' While the others read 'Tired of pesky nightmares? Make your own dreams!' with all the different Minka Dream Catchers on their own little shrine in the window. There was a thud at the front door and she saw that it was the paper being dropped off. She quickly grabbed it and flipped through to find the article about her store.

Her heart dropped as she read the Title and proceeded through the article.

_THE DARK MAGIC OF DIAGON ALLEY OPEN TO THE COMMON WIZARD'S EYE_

_We all remember the dark days of 'Zelina Zarco's Potion Recipes and Supplies' when perfectly innocent wizards would step in, but dark masters would step out. We all remember the hushed rumours of murders occurring in that very shop for years until the establishment was finally shut down after finding the owner Zelina herself attempting to trick an Auror into drinking a potion that would cause quite a bloody scene. It was then that Zelina was arrested and questioned. _

_Zelina explained her whole scheme of luring specific victims in and letting them taste some fantastic new potion that was really death in disguise. No other details were given to the public, and no persons allowed into the old building as Aurors feared curses and hexes surrounding it. _

_But no more do we live in question of the location of so many murders and shaping of dark minds. The store has now been re-opened for business by a young woman named Minka Maye who hopefully has not already felt the curse of the old building. _

The article continued, speaking only of the old horrid stories and the thought of was remains in the building. Nowhere did it mention what Minka's shop sold or even looked like now. She threw the paper onto the counter and closed her eyes in frustration.

She just had to hope that maybe people would not have read the article and would come into her shop with intrigue over her merchandise and not the store's haunted past.

Diagon Alley began to fill up as the time grew closer to opening.

Minka tightened her jet black hair into its pony tail once more and straightened out her pastel pink dress. She stared at the big purple eyes looking back at her in her reflection and nodded to herself.

She opened the front door and propped it open with a little wooden wedge. People eyed her as she turned to face them.

"Welcome to Minka's Dream Catcher's where you make your own dreams-" People stepped past her, not listening to her speech which she had prepared all last night. "Uhm," She followed them inside. They all looked around the old building and she watched as one woman gave a gasp as she seemed to spot something.

"Oh! Those are the beach themed Dream Catchers, great for when you need that island get away." Minka stood beside the display of the beach themed Dream Catchers. All the Dream Catchers appeared as little treasure chests. The beach ones were of an aqua coloured glass that gleamed like waves in the sunlight.

"Oh, no not that. Here! This is where they say Harold Collins drank a potion that caused him to fizzle and burn alive! They say an outline of his body still remains! Look you can see it there." The woman pointed to the floor where the wood appeared a bit darker, but in no way looked like the shape of a person.

"Were there any bones in here?" Said a voice from behind her. She turned to see a boy around the age of twelve.

"No…" The boy looked extremely disappointed.

"What about blood?"

Minka opened her mouth, about to yell at all the curious eyes awaiting her answer when a crash happened outside. White smoke emanated from the street and pooled into Minka's store.

"It's the spirits!" Someone yelled.

"No, it's people outside!" Minka shouted over the panic. She stormed outside to find a couple of children laughing as they waved around the smoke. They threw down a purple ball and another puff of smoke filled the air, but this time the shade of purple.

"Can you please stop that?!" Minka shouted over all of their laughing. "You're disrupting my store!" All the children stopped and looked at Minka, their faces turning to shock.

"It's the cursed lady!" They all screamed and ran, but not before one of them threw a yellow ball at her. Yellow smoke exploded all over her, causing her to cough and sputter. Once it cleared, she looked down to see that she was now splattered with yellow. People walked by giggling at her as she growled under her breath. She turned back to her store where the people inside stopped laughing and quickly ducked back into the alley.

She turned back around and looked at the store in front of her. It was large and colourful and looked completely packed inside. Children ran in and out with different toys that seemed to get more and more obnoxious. She slammed the door of her store closed and locked it, and stormed over to Weasleys Wizard Wheezes, ready to give the owner one big complaint.


	2. Chapter 2

**Seeing Yellow**

Minka brushed through the crowd of people in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, attempting to find someone who was working. People tended to step out of her way, not wanting to get any of the yellow powder gracing her dress on them.

She went up to a young man who was examining a red bottle with care. He turned to look at her and did a double take.

"Do you know where the owner is?" They looked her up and down a little stunned.

"Uh, last I saw he was upstairs." Minka turned on her heel and attempted to locate the stairs. She began to make her way through the crowd of excited children, only to be completely blocked off from the stairs.

"Excuse me." She said politely, but no one seemed to hear her. She backed up a little only to run into someone.

"Whoa careful." The person said. She was suddenly trapped against them as children pushed and shoved around her. She looked up to see the person and came face to face with a very tall man in a green silk suit with a yellow tie. His hair was flaming red and a few light freckles kissed his nose. He smiled down at her; his light brown eyes seemed to twinkle with mischief. She noticed one of his ears was mangled and mostly missing but she quickly looked back into his eyes, not wanting to seem rude.

"Looks like someone wasn't using the Pigment Puffs properly." He gave a small laugh as he brushed some of the yellow powder off her shoulder.

"It wasn't _me_ using them improperly it was these kids who decided to let them off in front of my store and then proceeded to throw one at me!"

"Oh." He made a slight cringe and scratched the back of his head sheepishly; his smile only seemed to grow with her anger.

"Could you keep your customers under control please? I'm trying to make my own business work as it is without worrying if this place is going to explode with fireworks or giant clouds of smoke flying in my front door."

"How'd you know I work here?" She gave him a look that said 'Are you kidding me?'

"Considering you look like the giant dummy out there on the front door, I'd say you have some sort of say about this place." He laughed slightly and put a hand on her shoulder to guide her to the stairs.

"Follow me." She tried to free herself from him, feeling a pang of caution.

"No I need to get back to my store."

"Looking like a giant banana?" He inclined his head for her to follow him up the stairs and began to ascend. Minka let out a long sigh and followed.

"So what do you think?" He said over his shoulder.

"Of what?" Minka asked as she looked down at the crowd of people.

"Of the store." They made it to the top of the stairs where even more merchandise stacked the shelves and people crowded them. They came to a door marked 'Office' and the man opened it, letting Minka enter first. It was fairly simple considering the extravagance of the store.

"It's uhm, colourful. I guess." He handed her a handkerchief which she took with a thank you. She wiped her face as he began to rummage through one of his cabinets.

"Allergic to fun or something?" He asked, his head deep into the back of the cabinet.

"I didn't say that. It's just hard to appreciate this particular _fun_ when they are throwing it at your head." She began to wipe at her dress, which only seemed to make it worse. She could hear him laughing as he emerged with a small bottle. He handed it to her.

"Put a few drops in a tub of water and soak your dress, it will take out the stain. However, the stain on your skin will remain for at least a month."

Minka's eyes went wide and she felt herself inhale.

"What!?"

"Kidding! Kidding! Relax, it's already gone from you wiping it." His grin never seemed to leave his face. "George Weasley." He held out his hand. She took it cautiously. She felt a small tingle in her hand that made her want to smile, which she quickly supressed.

"Minka Maye." They dropped hands and she quickly tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. He backed up a bit and sat on the edge of his desk. "What exactly is it that you sell?" She asked him.

"It's a joke shop of sorts. Of course this time of year the items that really sell are the candies that make you look sick to get out of classes."

"That's awful! How are wizards going to learn well if they are out _sick_ all of the time?!"

George scrunched his face for a moment. "You sound like my brother's wife."

"Well, maybe because it's true. You're not exactly helping the future of wizards."

George shrugged and stood up to go stand over at the window. "That's alright." An owl swooped in with a letter attached to its leg. George began to untie it as Minka raised her eyebrows at him. "I'll just tell them to go buy a Minka Dream Catcher to help them study in their sleep."

Minka lost her wording as George looked up to smile at her.

"The students will be fine Ms. Maye and so will your store. People will get over the curses and hex stories when they realize it's not happening. As for my customers, I'll try and keep them from destroying your store, and maybe I'll even send a few your way."

"Thank you, but I can do this on my own."

"Oh I don't doubt it. But just think of it as some neighbourly help." He put the letter down on his desk and walked over to her. He held out his hand again which Minka took. "It was nice to meet you." He said softly. Minka found herself looking into his eyes and holding his hand for a little too long. She quickly stepped back, turned on her heel and left with nothing but a muttered thank you as she closed the office door behind her.

She went over to her own store and opened it back up, having no choice but to work the rest of the day with a stained dress.

Most people came in just to glance around the old place like it was a museum; others didn't even want to step into the place.

Closer to the end of the day, a large group of teenagers came in.

"How does the studying in my sleep work?" One of them asked. Minka brought them over to the stack of Study Catchers. She held up a book she used as a demonstration and opened one of the Dream Catchers, which emanated a gold glow.

"You simply hold your notes or a textbook over the chest," She raised the book and dangled it over the golden gleams. The light seemed to engulf the book and then grabbed it out of Minka's hands and began to shrink the book. It pulled it in with lightning speed, causing the group to jump. The light changed from bright gold to a dark blue. "Then you simply go to bed and you will dream of reading the notes and the book over and over. In the morning I guarantee you will have learned at least two thirds of the material. And when you need the material back or want to change it you simply reach in." She placed her hand into the chest and she pulled out the book in miniature size. It began to grow back to normal as she held it out to them. They all were utterly fascinated and each one of them left with at least one Dream Catcher.

After that demonstration, she sold dozens of the Study Catchers and happened to sell a few others for the parents.

It was finally time to close, which she was happy about because the yellow powder began to irritate her skin a little. Just as she was about to shut the front door, she saw someone standing out on the street, staring at her building. It was an old woman, her shawl drawn tight around her in the cooling air.

"Can I help you?" Minka called out. The woman glared at Minka and waved one of her frail fingers at her.

"You should have left this place well enough alone. My son died in that place and now you treat it like nothing happened. Don't you realize the heart ache this place causes people?"

Minka approached the woman, and she recoiled as if Minka was poison.

"I'm sorry I never meant to offend anyone. But isn't it better to think of it as now a better place as opposed to an old building full of evil?" The woman spat at the ground in front of Minka.

"You should have left it alone." And with that she walked off down the street.

"Miserable old lady." Minka muttered to herself.

"Yeah you'll get those." Minka looked over to see George locking up the door to his shop. "I got a lot of hell just from having this building open across the way from it. Apparently people would rather this corner stay eerie and sad."

"Why? Bad things happen all the time; I don't see why it has to be our fault now." He walked over to her and watched the old lady step into another building down the street.

"Some people just can't let things go. And hopefully a woman looking like she was attacked with a giant horde of dandelions doesn't have that problem?" Minka looked up at him quizzically and then caught on to what he had said.

"Oh, no. Just as long as it really does come out of this dress. Or else we are going to have a whole other problem." She winked and turned to head back into her store.

"What are you doing this Saturday?" He shouted after her. Minka felt herself trip and quickly caught herself on the doorframe.

"I'm sorry?" She turned to look at him.

"Saturday, what are you doing?" He stepped towards her.

"I'm working."

"Get one of your employees to take your shift. We could take a walk down the Alley, I can show you around. Maybe we can get dinner after?"

Minka felt her stomach turn into a giant knot and she quickly stepped into her store, ready to close to the door.

"I don't have any other employees."

"Well, then find one. We'll go once they're trained." He kept stepping closer and she felt herself panic.

"Sorry, no." And then quickly shut the door and locked it. She leaned against the door and let out a long sigh of relief. She closed her eyes for a moment only for that familiar flash stream in her mind: the memory of opening her bedroom door and the shock on _his_ face as she walked in; the sound of different voices shouting and screaming. She opened her eyes again, trying to shake the thoughts from her head.

She finished closing up and then headed out the front door with caution, making sure George wasn't still there waiting.

She made it home to her apartment which still had a few things she needed to unpack. She thought of George that night and felt bad for slamming the door in his face. But she had no choice. She couldn't bring herself to have anything like that. She had her work and that was enough.

She opened her own Dream Catcher that night like she did every night and crawled into bed, not wanting to think about her past again or think too much on what happened with George. It was best to just forget it all.


	3. Chapter 3

**Building Trust**

"So you'll be okay right?"

"It's for 5 minutes, Minka. I think I can handle it." Daphne rolled her eyes at Minka's paranoia. It had been a month since she had opened and the word of Minka's Dream Catcher's had spread. People still came every now and then to ogle at the building or tell Minka off, but Daphne, her new employee seemed to keep them at bay good and well.

Daphne stood long and lean over the customers, her full head of curls just adding to her height. Her clothes mainly consisted of jeans and bold coloured sweaters, bringing out the colour of her dark olive skin. Daphne's hair seemed to change colour every week, but her sarcastic attitude always remained. What also remained was her inability to tolerate those who gave them a hard time. Despite her roughness, she was still good at selling and talking to customers. She was exactly what Minka needed.

"It's about time you went over and talked to him anyway. Since you blew him off and all."

"I didn't blow him off."

"Right, you just slammed a door in his face." Daphne gave a sarcastic smile as she leaned over the counter. Minka shook her head and turned away from her.

"I knew I shouldn't have told you about that." Minka headed for the door, hearing Daphne laugh behind her.

As she stepped across the narrow street, she noticed the old woman glaring at her from one of the shops. She continued to ignore her, not wanting to hear her babble on again about how shameful she should feel.

Since school had started, the store was less crowded than when she had last stormed in. She took a moment to appreciate everything that was staged around her-now that she could see it all. The shelves rose higher and higher, reaching right up to the ceiling. Displays flashed around her, making it hard for her to pick where she would want to look first. The stair case wound around in the middle of the store where the second floor took up the back of the store. Little planes and fireworks flew around the store. It was a child's dream.

She began to poke at some of the items on the shelves, managing to find the Pigment Puffs that were thrown at her. She began to read the back

_WARNING: Do not throw directly at persons for powder may stain clothing as well as burn through skin. Do not exceed throwing more than three at a time…_

"Burn through skin!?" Minka exclaimed holding the box tighter.

"I told you that you weren't using them right." George appeared beside her, a handful of different merchandise to stack on the shelves.

"You could have told me it was going to burn my skin off! I wore this around on my dress the whole day!" George's expression never changed or seemed apologetic.

"Relax, the box clearly states it may burn skin. So you were fine."

"Gee, well _that_ makes me feel better." Minka muttered putting it back on the shelf.

"What are you doing here anyway?" George said a little irritated as he placed the last of his merchandise on the shelf.

"I came to give this back. It really did help. And say thank you for giving it to me in the first place." Minka handed him the bottle he had given her to remove the stain from her dress due to the Pigment Puff. George kept his eye on the bottle as he nodded. He then turned away from her and began to walk.

"George, wait. I'm sorry." He stopped and turned to look at her. "What happened that day was…You just caught me off guard is all. I didn't mean to be rude." George nodded and gave a half smile. It was odd not seeing him grin the entire time like he had the last time. "We could go for that walk? Maybe start over?"

He nodded slowly. "Sure, just let me put this away." He held up the bottle and headed up the stairs and came back down a few minutes later. They walked for a bit in silence, both more content at staring at the ground.

"So how's business?" He finally asked.

"Good. Now that people realize I haven't become possessed or cursed, people are more inclined to drop by." George finally grinned like he did before which made Minka smile. "How's business for you?"

"Steady, it'll pick up again around Halloween."

"I have to say, your store definitely sticks out from the rest of The Alley."

"Yeah well, my brother and I were never subtle people." He gave a smile as they turned the corner to the other side of The Alley. "So where are you from?"

"I was born here, but we moved to Ireland when I was 11. I went to this tiny wizarding school for the children in my town. My parents were too afraid to send me to Hogwarts given it's…history."

"And what made you come back?" Minka felt her stomach knot and her words fumble.

"Uhm, just, needed a change."

"Would what needed to be changed be the reason I almost got my nose broken on a door last month?" Minka laughed.

"Something like that." She looked up to meet his eyes and saw him smiling back at her. He then turned to point at one of the buildings.

"Best pumpkin tea in the country in there. You had any yet?" Minka shook her head no which only made him grin wider. They stepped inside the old café and sat at a table. George ordered the pumpkin tea as well as two slices of pie.

"It's nine in the morning. We're going to have pie now?"

"There is no set time for pie. Any time is the perfect time for pie." George's face became serious for a moment, and then his grin cracked across his face again.

"How do you do it?"

"Do what?" He leaned back in his chair, fiddling with the salt shaker.

"Smile so much?" He slipped into a moment of thought as he poured salt onto the table.

"It's been a while since I have so much, actually." Minka's eyes couldn't help but wander to his one ear and its mangled shape. She wondered if that had anything to do with it. "But, no need to get into that. How did this Dream Catcher come to be?"

They talked for a long time in that café about their businesses, where they live and some childhood memories. They both managed to keep their forbidden topics unspoken.

They made their way back to the road between their stores, ready to part ways.

"Thank you for the start over, George."

"If I had to cut out every person in my life who have slammed a door in my face, I'd have no one left."

They both said their goodbyes and turned back to their stores. Minka turned back around quickly.

"So, what happens if you _do_ throw more than three Pigment Puffs at a time?"

George turned, his smile dubious.

"Stop by after closing some time, I'll show you." And with that he was gone.

Minka went back into her store to Daphne right in front of her. Her arms were crossed and her lips twitched with the anticipation to smile.

"What?" Minka stepped past her to go behind the cash.

"What was _that_?" Daphne followed her, standing on the other side of the counter.

"It was two people talking."

"You were gone for a pretty long time."

"We went for a walk and got some tea. I was making friends, maybe you should try it."

Daphne made a fake laughing face. "It looked like he had a lot more than friendship on his mind with that smile." Minka rolled her eyes and headed for the stairs.

"He smiled. Big deal. Besides, I'm not looking for anything like that."

"Whatever you say." She turned and went to help customers, leaving Minka with her half excuses and doubt in her mind.

….One Week Later….

"You can head out now, Daphne." Minka closed the register with a clank and started to put the account books away.

"Brilliant. Because I have a party to get to." She adjusted one of the displays a last time and then grabbed her bag.

Minka saw her out; being sure she made it down the street okay. As Daphne stepped onto the threshold, a giant thud echoed from their display window. They turned to see a giant egg completely smashed against the glass.

"Heartless bitch!" Came a voice. They turned to see a person standing under one of the street lights.

"Seriously?! You are egging my store!?" The person then took off, running down the street.

"HEY!" Daphne went to run after them when Minka caught her arm.

"It's not worth it. Just, go to your party."

"You going to be okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Go have fun." Daphne left hesitantly, but Minka reassured her that the person had left.

Minutes later, Minka was splashing buckets of water on the window, attempting to get the egg off. As the yolk began to wipe off, she noticed that it had left large scratch marks from the shell.

"Did you frighten more children?" She turned to see George walking over to her. "You should be lucky it's just puffs of powder and…aug, old griffin eggs. Those kids can get nasty."

"No, this time I was a heartless bitch to some guy."

"Didn't tip him at a restaurant?" Minka smiled and rolled her eyes and went back to wiping at the glass.

"Like others, he just doesn't appreciate where I decided to set up my merchandise. Need to add new window to a nice long list of things to do."

"Right up there with seeing what George has for you?" Minka plopped the rag into the bucket of water and held out her hands.

"How'd you know I love presents?" A smirk played across her face.

"Sorry no gift. Follow me."

"I can't, I have to work out this stain." She turned back to the window, about to pick the rag back up. George leaned in close to her ear, his breath hot on her skin. She felt goose bumps creep down her spine and back up again.

"You know, there's this fancy thing called magic? I hear a lot of wizards use it these days." George pulled out his wand and swished it in the air. The egg slowly shrunk in on itself until it disappeared altogether.

"Really need to brush up on my housekeeping spells." Minka muttered to herself. George let out a small laugh and pulled away from her ear.

"Come on, let's go."

Minka locked the door of her store and caught up with him down the street.

…..

"Are you sure this is safe?"

"Relax, no one is around." George ripped open a box of Pigment Puffs, dropping half of the pack into his hand.

"I don't know about this." Minka's hands rose to her cheeks in panic as she looked around Diagon Alley. The stores had closed down around an hour ago and no one was around. The streetlights gleamed on them as they stood in the town centre.

"Minka, we'll be fine…as long as you take a few more steps back." She took another several.

"Ready?!" He shouted over to her.

"No!"

"Okay here we go!" George then threw the Puffs straight up in the air and then ran over to Minka. He stood next to her, his eyes scanning the air. "Okay here they come."

They both watched as they made their way to the ground. Minka grabbed George's arm last minute, afraid of the result.

They all hit the ground with a very loud and low bang. Colour exploded in all directions, almost knocking over George and Minka. They quickly grabbed each other, attempting to stabilize themselves.

"Half of Diagon Alley is going to be multi-coloured now!" Minka said against the clouds.

"Look up!" Minka looked up, and found herself completely lost for words. All of the colours had swirled together in a sort of mini tornado. It swirled round slowly, never actually moving from its one spot. Minka was completely mesmerized as she watched it grow taller and taller until it finally faded away.

"George…that was beautiful."

"I know. But imagine that going off in someone's backyard or in their house. It's one thing to clean a stain, it's another if it tears your house down."

"Should you really be selling that to people?" George shrugged. Minka shook her head and sighed, but couldn't stop smiling as she thought of the giant rainbow tornado. It was then that she noticed they were still holding onto each other. She moved back slowly, pulling her hair back in a ponytail out of nerves.

"Well um, I guess I should be getting back." George nodded, a little nervous himself.

They walked down the deserted street back to their stores. For a while, only the buzz of the streetlights could be heard. It was George who decided to break the silence.

"How's Daphne working out?"

"She's good. She's closing on her own tomorrow for the first time, so we'll see how that goes."

"Wow, good on you."

"Yeah well, have to start trusting people again at some point." Minka's mind trailed off for a moment but she quickly snapped out of it.

"Do you want to talk about i-"

"No. I mean. I just…can't." They arrived at Minka's shop, pausing outside the door.

"Well, maybe you can spend your night off tomorrow talking about it with me over dinner."

"George-"

"Hey, you have to start trusting people again at some point. I'll pick you up at your place tomorrow at six. The old Hazel building right?" His voice was so confident, his expression expectant of a yes answer.

Minka bit her lip and then sighed.

"Make it six thirty. I need time to get ready." And with that she turned on her heel and headed inside, unsure of what exactly she just agreed to.


	4. Chapter 4

**Dine and Dash**

Minka wiped her hands for a fifth time on her bathroom towel, feeling the clamminess in her hands immediately return. George was due to pick her up soon, and she couldn't help but feel completely unprepared.

She wore a deep blue halter dress and had put her hair in loose waves. She didn't bother with any jewelry and decided on low heels, unsure of where exactly they were going. She hoped at least for a dinner because she was starving.

She shoved her hands under the cooling water of the faucet, hoping it could help with her sweaty palms. It helped…for a few minutes.

She eventually found herself pacing in her family room, wondering if this was a good idea. It was her first date in a while, and she didn't know if she was ready. She couldn't tell George yet about why she was so nervous about this, it was much too heavy of a conversation for a first date. Maybe if she kept it light and happy, she could get through it unscathed. She decided to treat it like the other times they hung out. It would be casual and friendly, nothing more.

Her pacing was interrupted by a light knock on her door. She walked over as steadily as she could, not wanting him to hear the frantic clacking of her heels from the other side of the door. She opened the door to find George leaning against her doorframe.

She took in his silk purple suit-relieved to see he was dressed up as well-glowing in vibrant contrast to his flaming hair. His usual grin spread across his face as he looked her up and down as well.

"You look fantastic, Minka."

"Thank you, so do you." Her voice cracked once and she quickly cleared her throat. She had seen him in suits before, but tonight felt different. His smile gave her heart an extra jump start, and his casual attitude only made her more nervous.

She took his arm and they headed down to the front of the building.

"So where exactly are we going?"

"Well-" He was interrupted by a loud squeal from an owl. It came swooping down and landed on George's shoulder, nibbling at his ear. It stuck it's little leg out, a bound up letter attached. He pulled it off and read through the note. His eyes suddenly closed, a deep sigh-or possibly a growl-escaping in his frustration.

"What? What's wrong?"

"My mum." He replied without opening his eyes. "I sent her a letter telling her I wasn't going to the family dinner tonight, and she just sent a very angry letter back telling me I have to."

"Well, be thankful it wasn't a howler." George finally opened his eyes and shook his head. The owl gave a large nip at George's ear, causing him to curse.

"You're on mum's side too huh?" The owl gave a loud hoot in response. It nuzzled his cheek before it took off into the night. There was a moment of silence at George contemplated his choices. Minka decided to make it for him.

"Well, let's go. We wouldn't want to miss dinner." George looked at her as if she said they are going to dine with Voldemort.

"You want to go to my family's house?"

"Why not? Free meal, free wine, and embarrassing stories about you." Minka poked George on the nose, his expression of shock never wavering from his face. It finally subsided, turning into what looked like sadness and then defeat.

"Okay, okay. But once dessert is done, so is this visit."

"Deal." Minka held out her hand and George took it, pulling her close. Her heart skipped a beat for a moment, then realizing he was pulling her close so they could apparate.

They dropped onto an open cornfield, crickets singing loud and in unison all around them. Minka turned around a couple times.

"You killing me first?"

George grinned widely and grabbed her hand, leading her through the field.

"Not yet. Although don't tempt me for making me go to this dinner." A very tall, oddly stacked looking house came into view, lights were on through the various floors.

"It's adorable." Minka whispered.

"You say that now."

She rolled her eyes, ignoring his negativity. When they reached the front door, George gave a quick knock. A commotion seemed to be going on behind the door until finally it flung open with such speed, Minka took a step back.

She looked down a bit to see a short plump looking woman. Her hair was as fiery red as George's. Her curls seemed wild and ready to break out of her the tight bun she had wrestled them into. Her face went from a pure happiness to stunted shock.

"George…" She said, staring at Minka.

"Mum, this is Minka. Minka, this is my mum Molly."

"It's nice to meet you." Minka smiled, holding out her hand.

"Merlin's stars, it's _lovely_ to meet you!" Molly ignored Minka's hand and pulled her in for a tight hug. "George, why didn't you tell me you were bringing a _date_!? Not that it's any trouble." She pulled away and put her hands on Minka's cheeks.

Minka looked over Molly to see a few more people approaching them, all with flaming red hair.

"Now Molly, let her breathe." The oldest of them put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm Arthur, George's father." Minka shook his hand, his expression warm and kind. "These are my sons, Ron and Charlie." The other two nodded, giving her space after Molly's embrace.

"Well come in! Come in!" Molly grabbed Minka's hand and pulled her into the house.

"Mum, please." George called after them, seeming slightly irritated. Minka was lead into a room full of more people with flaming red hair, and some not. She recognized one face quite well among them. His dark tousled hair was unforgettable, as well as the scar underneath it.

"Minka, these are my other sons Percy and Bill, Bill's wife Fleur, my daughter Ginny and her husband Harry, and Ron's wife Hermione. Everyone, this is Minka, George's date." She squeezed Minka's hand in delight as she addressed the room. The group all seemed to smile in unison and shook her hand.

She was swept across the room for a while, engaging in different conversations and getting to know his family. She kept her eye out once and a while to see George being a little stand offish talking to one of his brothers.

It was finally time for dinner and she was placed beside Ginny and Ron. George sat across from her. Minka winked at him from across the table, letting him know she was perfectly fine.

"So, Minka, how long have you been seeing George?" Molly asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"Oh," Minka swallowed the giant bite of potatoes she had just stuffed in her mouth. "This was actually, um-"

"This _was_ our first date, but there was a change of plan." George waved his utensils a little, indicating that this dinner was the change.

"And I'm glad we came." Minka reassured. "We could not have gotten a better meal anywhere else." Molly flushed a little red, smiling to herself.

"How did you two meet?" Bill asked. "Usually George doesn't give too good of a first impression."

"Well, he certainly uphold to that. My store is located across the way from his. And a few of his customers decided to throw some of his merchandise at me, which may or may not have the capability of burning my skin off. And I went into his store to yell at him."

"And she couldn't help but be captivated for my wit and charm." He raised a playful eyebrow at her.

"Oh I'm so sure." Minka retorted with a sarcastic smile. "No, George is just lucky I'm forgiving and didn't sue him."

"He doesn't usually get so lucky." Ron chimed in.

"Sounds like love at first sight to me!" Molly burst out. Minka's smile dropped and she felt her face flush.

"Mom." George said, annoyance in his tone. Arthur quickly changed the subject, causing everyone to go off into conversations in smaller groups.

Minka was stuck in thinking about what Molly said. She felt old heartache spring up into her out of reflex, hoping to avoid this very problem.

"I love your dress." Ginny said, snapping her out of her moment.

"Oh, thank you."

They finished dinner without another awkward moment and went onto dessert. A quittitch game eventually broke out outside. Minka attempted to play, trying her hardest to keep up with their competitive vibe. She managed to help her team-Ginny, Harry and Ron-win one game.

She sat on the side with Ginny during one of the games, recouping from the many hits and blows from her game. Ginny, handed her an ice pack to put on her arm.

"Sorry, we've all sort of been on a school team at one point or another."

"That's alright, it was fun."

"Well, I am impressed on how well you kept up."

Minka watched as George took next round, and was an exceptional beater.

"So, Minka's Dream Catchers. I heard all about them. They sound wonderful." Ginny turned her eyes to Harry, who was talking to Hermione. "I might stop by and get one. Maybe give it to Harry as a present. He has so many nightmares. After everything that's happened…" Minka put a comforting hand on Ginny's shoulder.

"Come by anytime. We'll find the perfect one for him, and you."

"I guess I can't hide that I get them too. I'm sure George told you all about what happened. It goes without saying he's been the most affected by it in our family."

Minka looked over at George, he seemed so content and happy. She caught a glimpse of his mangled ear for a moment.

"I don't think I've seen him smile this much since it happened."

Minka was about to ask Ginny what had happened when there was a giant thud. Bill had come tumbling down from his broom. Everyone rushed over to see him. They all stood over him, but he was already laughing it off.

"I'm fine, don't worry." He reassured Fleur as she checked him over head to toe.

"Alright, that's enough; I don't want any broken limbs tonight." Molly warned, sending everyone inside. Minka and George watched as everyone crowded back into the house, them staying out on the field.

"Well, so much for skipping out once dessert was done." Minka said quietly to him. He looked down for a moment, laughing quietly.

"Yeah, yeah well, I wouldn't want to pull you away from all your new best friends."

"Your family is amazing George." She looked up into his eyes. "I can see where you get it from." Her words sunk in for a moment and she quickly added "I mean your happiness. Not that you're not amazing-I mean…"

George closed the small space between them and kissed her softly and quickly. He stroked her cheek with his thumb.

"You're pretty amazing too." He whispered to her. He leaned in to kiss her again.

"Ahem!" They pulled away quickly to see Ron standing at the back door of the house. "Ginny and Harry are leaving!" He called out to them.

George wrapped an arm around Minka.

"I guess I should get you home too. We both have work in the morning." They went to say their goodbyes to everyone. As George said goodbye to Molly, there seemed to be tears in her eyes.

"Please don't wait so long for the next visit." She said softly to him.

"I'll be here for this Christmas, mum. Promise." He hugged her tightly and then grabbed Minka's hand. "Let's go before the goodbyes start all over again."

…..

Minka opened the front door to her apartment building.

"Do you want to come in for a bit?" She asked, turning back to George.

One of his eyebrows rose.

"No, not like that. I meant for tea or something. No! I mean-not _something_ but-"

He kissed her again, softly and cautiously. He pulled away the slightest bit.

"If you plan to do that whenever I ramble on absently, you're going to be doing that quite often."

"I don't mind." He whispered back, and leaned in kissing her again. They kissed slowly and carefully for a little while. Her arms reached around his neck, his around her waist.

After a while, a small noise escaped George's lips, sending shivers down Minka's spine. She pulled away quickly and took a step back.

"Okay, I think that's enough for tonight." She tried to hide her shallow breathing. He, however, embraced his every quick breath.

"Right. We'll take it slow." He held out his hand. "Goodnight Minka." She took his hand and shook it.

"Goodnight George."

Their hands dropped and Minka stepped into her building. That was the first night since she invented them that she didn't use her Dream Catcher to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**New Flames, Old Ashes**

Minka sat at her office desk, putting together the last of a Dream Catcher when she heard the familiar clacking of Daphne's heels walking up the stairs. She looked up to see Daphne standing at the landing, tapping her foot.

"What? Are we out of something?"

"I've been dying all morning. Will you just tell me already?"

"So you finally cracked." Minka had watched-with quite a bit of amusement-as Daphne waited for Minka to bring up her date with George the previous night all morning. She had finally grown impatient enough to bring it up herself.

"Fine." Minka got up from her desk and headed down the stairs with Daphne who awaited eagerly, both with a box of Dream Catchers. They began to refill the shelves as Minka retold the night.

"I had no idea what he had planned originally but, his family was really sweet." Daphne was now sitting on the counter, her head resting on the palms of her hands.

"Wow, meeting the parents on the first date. Kinda forward."

"It wasn't like he meant to. He didn't exactly seem to be happy to be there at first. By the sounds of it, he hasn't been there in a while."

"How come?"

"I don't know. His sister said something odd to me as well. Something bad happened to all of them, but she said it was hardest on George. She assumed I already knew what it was."

"Maybe she means the war at Hogwarts a few years ago."

"Maybe…but something definitely felt…sad with all of them."

"Just go ask him about it. Then maybe you can share whatever is bugging you all the time." Daphne hopped off the counter and started to head towards customers that had just walked in.

"How do you know something is bugging me?"

"It doesn't take a mind reader to see that you're a cautious person. And by cautious I mean flat out afraid to get close to people. It took you a week to finally let me close the store with you. And a month to leave me alone in the store. Just fess up to your problems and listen to his."

Minka found herself walking into Weasley's Wizard Wheezes a few minutes later. The store was completely packed due to the big sale of Halloween exclusive items. All new items were emanating around the room with their own surprises and tricks.

She made her way up the winding staircase and looked down the rail to see if she could see George. She eventually spotted him telling off some kids to not set off a certain product in the store. They seemed to nod in compliance and went off to look at something else.

"George!" She shouted over the banister. George looked around for a moment and then finally caught Minka's eye. He gave a small smile, but not his usual grin. That worried her. She pointed towards his office and he nodded, holding up a finger to indicate he needed a minute.

Minka stepped into his office and closed the door behind her, happy to be rid of the crowd for a moment. She took in the silence and began to peer around the room.

Several pictures and awards hung on the walls and a few unfinished project designs were scattered across his desk. She caught something moving in the corner of her eye and realized it was in his trash can. A picture had been thrown into it, the frame now cracked and broken. The people in the picture still smiled back at her despite the destruction of its frame.

She pulled the picture out carefully from its frame, pieces of glass falling into the trash can. She felt her breath catch in her throat, and her stomach tighten. Smiling at her was a picture of George with his arm wrapped around…well…George. They were standing in front of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, flashes happened all around them as others took their picture.

Had he cloned himself? His ears were perfectly fine and he looked a few years younger. And then it hit her, '_He's been the most affected by it in our family.' _He mentioned how he started the business with his brother, but she had never seen any of his siblings before in the shop.

This person in the picture with him wasn't George, it was…

"What are you doing?!" His voice came loud and sharp. Minka whipped around, the picture still in her hand.

"I was…um." George stormed over and plucked the picture out of her hand.

"That's private."

"You keep all your secrets in the trash?" He didn't reply as he shoved the picture into his pocket.

"Ginny mentioned about how something happened to all of you."

"Yeah well my sister needs to know when to keep her mouth shut." He still didn't look at her as he went to sit at his desk.

"What happened? To your twin?" George flinched.

"He died in the war." Minka felt her heart clench.

"George." She took a step toward him, her hand reaching out to touch his shoulder.

"Don't." He jumped up from his chair and took a few steps back. "Don't do that. You didn't know him, you have no reason to feel pity about his death."

"No reason. George, he was your brother! For Heaven's Sakes he was your _twin! _And it's not pity I feel, it's absolute devastation that he was taken from you. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well, maybe because it's none of your business." It was then that he finally looked at her. "Besides, it's not like you've told me anything about you. Why you seem to hold me and everyone around you away like we're the plague! You don't need to flatter yourself Minka, not everyone is out to hurt you."

"Like you're doing right now?" She felt tears heavy in her eyes as she tried to blink them back.

"I have my secrets the same as you Minka. I wasn't ready to tell you about Fred any more than you are able to tell me anything about you. But now we'll never know when I was ready will we?"

"George, this is ridiculous! I'm sorry I found that picture! I'm sorry your sister assumed I knew something and that I was able to piece it together. But I'm not sorry for wanting to help you."

"I don't need your help with anything. I'm fine. I just wanted to go on a date with you."

"Isn't that what dating people do? Get to know each other?"

"Yeah, well, it's a two way street." Minka felt her attempts falter and all out disappear. She saw something harsh in him, and she couldn't get through to him. She began to doubt her ability to move on from her past with George.

Minka nodded slowly, taking a deep breath. "I'm gunna go. Don't expect me anytime soon, and feel free to not drop by anymore." She made her way to the door, whipping it open with fury.

"Doesn't take much for you to run away does it?" He said after her. She paused and turned around to look at him, feeling a tear roll down her cheek.

"It's not like you're giving me any reason to want to stay, are you?" And with that, she left. She pushed through the crowd, causing people to curse her out as she shoved them into displays and other people.

She stormed into her own store, marching past Daphne and anyone else in the store to head up to her office. Daphne came up moments later.

"Hey, everything okay?" She moved slowly towards Minka who was pacing back and forth behind her desk.

"You know what, yeah. It's what I get for jumping into things."

"Oh no, what happened?"

"He's just…not ready for whatever this was between us. He was clearly just pushing himself into it."

"Minka-"

"I just need you to work downstairs in the shop while I work up here okay? Please."

"Okay. Just, talk to me when you need to." Daphne headed back downstairs, glancing back at least three times.

Minka sat down at her desk, letting out a huge breath of air. She ran her hands through her hair, leaving them entangled as she rested her elbows on the desk.

She felt horrible for telling him not to come around anymore, knowing he would eventually be ready to talk about it. She also felt bad for giving him a hard time about him not telling her when she was hiding secrets of her own. Maybe she would go back over another day and tell him everything. Maybe it would make everything better. Maybe.

She worked on new Dream Catchers the rest of the day, trying to forget about what had happened for at least a few hours. Closing time rolled around and she was completely absorbed in her work, it wasn't until Daphne came back up the stairs that she realized the store was closed and Daphne had completed all the nightly paperwork.

"I'm going to head home now. Unless you wanted to talk?"

"Not right now. I'm going to stay a bit longer and work on this. I'll see you on Monday."

"Okay, if you're sure."

"I'm sure. Go enjoy your day off tomorrow." After a bit more protest, Daphne finally left in defeat.

Minka worked another hour on the Dream Catchers before her eyes began to feel heavy from staring at one spot for so long. She put a hand to her neck and moved it back and forth, trying to ease out the stiffness.

She looked out the window to see that the rest of the street had closed their doors and their lights were off, including George's store.

She grabbed her bag and jacket and decided it was time for her to head home too. She made her way down the stairs and double checked that the back door was locked.

As she walked towards the front door, digging to the bottom of her purse for the store key, she heard the door open.

"I'm sorry we're clos-" She stopped her sentence dead in its tracks as she looked up to see the person. Her throat began to tighten and her stomach clench in an agonizing pit of fear.

"Hello Minka." His voice came out in his thick Irish accent, filling her ears with pins and needles. She hoped to never hear his voice again.

"Killian." His name came out in a quiver. She felt herself swallow harshly through her clenched throat. "How'd you find me?" His tousled brown hair gleamed in the candlelight, his blue eyes blazing with intensity. His body still remained thick like a wall and his stubble had grown in more, making him look older.

"Is that really important? I think what's important is that I did find you." He took one step forward, and she took one step back.

"I left to rid myself of you." She tried to say with confidence.

"Aww, Minka. Don't say that. You miss me as much as I miss you." Another step.

"How could I ever miss you? I found you in _our_ bed with the girl you decided I should become close friends with!"

"You know it didn't mean anything." Another step.

"Maybe not, but those bruises you would leave-on both her and me-did mean something."

Minka felt her back hit the counter. She was stuck.

"Minka, please. I came here to apologize. I want us back again. I want our life." He continued to walk toward her.

"DON'T! You stay right where you are! You will never have _us_ back again! And you will certainly never have _me_ again! Now get the hell out of my store or so help me I will THROW YOU OUT!" She felt her heart thudding through her chest and ringing in her ears as anger boiled through her body.

Killian took a step back toward the door, half turning. And then he was storming up to her, grabbing her arms with an all too familiar grip.

"Do you really think you can talk to me like that?" His breath came hot on her face. "Especially after what I saw? You're really going to forget about me and what we had to be with some joke shop owner?"

"Let me go." She spat through clenched teeth. She tried to free herself from his grasp, only for him to hold tighter.

"We're meant to be together, don't you get that?"

"You're psychotic, Killian. You never gave a damn about me and you never will!"

He released his grip on her only to slap her hard across the face, causing her to fall to the ground. He picked her up by her hair to drag her back up.

"If he ever touches you again…I'll kill him. And I'll make you watch."

She brought one of her hands up and punched him as hard as she could across his jaw. He staggered back for a moment, rubbing at his face. He looked up to meet her blazing eyes.

"You just remember that." He growled, and then brought his fist up to hit her across the face, causing her to black out.

…..

Minka collapsed on her couch, so many thoughts rumbling through her head as it throbbed in protest. She had awoken a little while later on the floor of her store. Killian had left and no one had been around to see or hear what had happened. She locked all her doors and windows as soon as she had arrived at home.

She tried to figure out how Killian had found her. She knew her parents couldn't have told him since they were in Australia now, and they knew not to tell him even if he did try to talk to them.

Her mind couldn't process how he had found her as it continued to ache from his hit. She decided to figure it out in the morning, wanting nothing more than to just crawl into bed for now.

All she could think about before she fell asleep was his threat of George's life. Maybe it was for the best that he wasn't ready for anything to start. It would make staying away from him a lot easier…at least she hoped.


	6. Chapter 6

**Choices**

Minka caught her reflection in the mirror at work the next day and felt herself grimace. Her one eye was blood shot and was surrounded by purple bruising. She could only open it halfway from the swelling and she had been getting awkward looks from customers the entire morning.

She wore a long sleeved shrug over her dress to cover up the bruising on her arms, not that it didn't detract from her face. She worked through the morning with a constant headache behind her eyes, but she didn't dare bring in Daphne, knowing she would try to get the truth out of Minka about what really happened.

She was behind the register when George came into the store. She quickly turned to the side, staring down at some papers. Her hair fell over the side of her face so he couldn't see her eye. She was hoping he wouldn't try and come see her so soon.

"Minka." He was on the other side of the counter, staring at the wall of hair covering her face.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came here to apologize. I got angry at you for no reason. You cared, and I should have been happy about that, not pushing you away."

"No, you know. I shouldn't have poked around in your office and it wasn't any of my business."

"But-"

"You were right. It's too late now. We should just call it a failed attempt and move on with our lives." She turned her back to him, shutting her eyes tight. "Please just, leave."

"No, Minka. I want to work things out."

"We can't. We're just not ready, okay?" She heard his footsteps as he rounded the counter to face her. She quickly looked away.

"Oh my God. Minka…" He saw. She turned to look up at him slowly. His face was filled with horror. "What happened?"

"Nothing, it was just um. I fell."

"I can see the knuckle marks." He brought up his hand, making Minka flinch. He placed his hand carefully on her cheek and rubbed his thumb delicately on the bruise. "Who did this?"

She peered into his eyes and saw nothing but concern for her. She had never seen so much hurt in someone's eyes before. She felt tears sting in her eyes but she quickly blinked them back.

"It was…someone who was angry at me for opening my store here. I never got a good look at their face. It was dark." She looked away, anywhere but at his face.

"Did you report it?"

"No, it's fine. There's not much to go off of. I'll just be more careful and not go home so late."

"I can come by at night to make sure you close okay. If I'm not here, I can get someone who is working-"

"No, George." She pulled away from him, wrapping her arms around herself. "I'm sure they won't attack again. I just need you to keep away from here. I don't want you getting tangled up in this mess."

"I want to help, Mi-"

"Just stop, okay? We didn't work out so stop trying so hard. I'm…over us." There seemed to be a pause for a very long while. Minka couldn't help herself and finally looked up into his eyes. Her heart seemed to sink.

"If you need anything…you know where to find me." He brushed past her and left her standing there alone. Minka felt the tears come back and spill over before she could even comprehend them. She covered her mouth to keep from making any noise. She sat behind the counter a moment and tried her hardest to control her tears. She took several deep breathes and finally felt herself calm slightly. She wiped her face carefully on her sleeve and stood up again.

Thankfully, no one was in the store at that point to see her slight melt down. She busied herself restocking the shelves and going far into a lot of depth about her Dream Catchers with customers, attempting to rid her mind of the memory that was now George Weasley.

….Two and a half Months Later….

"Do you have a sex fantasy Dream Catcher?"

"Uhh…no." Minka felt her cheeks go crimson as the teenage boy left with disappointment. She turned to one of her displays, letting off a shudder. She was seriously concerned about the amount of people who came in to ask similar questions as that one.

"Oh my God. Minka." Daphne pointed outside and Minka followed her gaze. They watched as a slender woman came walking over to the store from across the street. She stepped in and began to wander through the store.

"You want me to take care of this?" Daphne whispered.

"Shh, no. She's a customer. Besides, there's nothing to…take care of." Minka rolled her eyes and walked over to the woman.

"May I help you?" Minka asked nicely. The woman's eyes lit up and she smiled.

"Oh, yes. You're Minka?"

"That would be me." Minka waited for some sort of catty remark, but she remained kind.

"I'm looking for a Dream Catcher for my…boyfriend. It's for Christmas."

"You're boyfriend." Minka repeated. "And you decided he'd like something from here?"

"Why wouldn't he? I was thinking maybe something beachy or underwater like. It might give a hint that I would like to go away with him for New Years."

"Wow, Holidays. Have you been together long?" Minka led her over to the display of beach Dream Catchers, a little flustered.

"Only a couple weeks, but we dated back in school. So, we're just picking up where we left off." She grinned as she looked over the display. Her skin was like milk chocolate with smooth black hair flowing down her back. Her teeth and eyes twinkled as she grinned from ear to ear. Minka couldn't help but feel envious.

"Well um, this one is good for a beach sunset. This one is for midday."

"Oh, the sunset sounds romantic. Is there any way I can have it so he's thinking of me too?"

"If you place a picture of yourself in the Dream Catcher, it will add you into the dream."

"Perfect! I'll take one. He'll love it." Minka took a hard swallow as she grabbed one from the display and took it to the cash register.

"It's for my boyfriend." She stated to Daphne as she rung her up. Daphne gave her an opened mouthed grin and looked at Minka.

"Isn't that the perfect present for him, Minka?" Minka glared at her as a warning as they continued to talk. Once the girl left, Daphne inhaled heavily and dramatically.

"She totally doesn't know what happened between you two!"

"What happened as in nothing?"

"You went on a date and snogged in front of your apartment building. I'd say that's _something_. Enough that she certainly wouldn't have given him one of these as a present!"

"Do you think I should have told her?"

"No! What better way to steal him back than to be what's on his mind over the Christmas holidays? You should have snuck a picture of yourself into the Dream Catcher."

"Ew! No! She's putting a picture of herself in there!"

"Threesome?"

"Daphne!"

The door chimed as someone stepped in, letting a cold breeze from the street in with them. Daphne turned and grinned.

"Hello again!" She greeted. Minka turned and felt her stomach turn.

"Hello Daphne! How's my favourite sales girl?" Killian walked over and leaned against the counter.

"I am doing fantastic."

"Daphne, why don't you go take your break." Minka said in monotone, her gaze never leaving Killian's.

"Sure thing. I'll leave you two to talk." Daphne winked at Killian who winked back. Once Daphne had left, Minka finally spoke to him.

"What do you want?"

"I came to see how you are doing. Maybe we could go get lunch once Daphne gets back."

"Stay away from Daphne. And stop filling her head with whatever lies you're making up about us." Minka said coldly. She grabbed a box from the counter and began to unpack it onto the shelves, keeping her back to him.

"Don't be jealous sweetheart. I always come here for you." She heard his footsteps move to just behind her.

"How about you don't come around at all? I've done what you asked and I don't want you here."

"You seem to be missing out on the whole point of this. I want you back, Minka. If that doesn't happen, well…"

"Well what? More empty threats?" He grabbed her wrist tightly and brought his lips close to her ear.

"Don't ever think any of my threats are empty." He squeezed her wrist harder before letting go and stepping back. She turned to look at him, both of them with anger spearing into each other's eyes.

"Why do you even want this so bad?"

"Because I love you, Minka. And I know I've made mistakes. But we're meant to be together." His face had softened and he looked nothing but remorseful. She remembered when she actually thought she loved him back. Before he revealed all that was evil about himself.

"I'm sorry, Killian. But I can't go back to this. You've already showed me that you're still the same angry, spiteful human being with nothing but fake charm to hide it all. I suggest you just leave, because our relationship already has a long time ago." She brushed past him and stood behind the cash register. He stood there for a moment and then headed for the door. He turned to look at her.

"We're _not_ over." He slammed the door behind him and headed off into the Alley.

Minka let out a large breath, hating any conversations with him. She felt herself falling back into old memories. About when she met him and felt herself immediately drawn to him. How he had shown nothing but love for her. But then she remembered when his attitude seemed to change. He guided her towards being friends with different people, and doing whatever he wanted to do. She remembered meeting several different people that he had known. She remembered one in particular-Lacie-that she had caught him in bed with…in _their_ house. How after that was when everything just turned for the absolute worst.

She quickly shut her mind down to that part and rubbed her face heavily.

"Minka?" She removed her hands from her face. She felt her heart flutter. She didn't even realize someone had come in.

"George. How are you?" He took a few more steps into the store. His hair was dotted with snow.

"I've been good. I just wanted you to know I'm not trying to hurt you, or make you jealous or anything like that."

"I know you're not that kind of person. I just happened to be leaving my store at the same moment she decided to suck your face off in front of yours."

George's face blushed red as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Sorry, cheap shot." Minka said with a small smile. She walked over to him, not wanting to hide behind the counter.

"It's okay. It wasn't very proper to be doing that outside my store anyway."

"Soo, what's her name?"

"Angelina. We dated back in school and she just sort of…wanted to try it again."

"She?"

"Well…I mean…she suggested it." He stuttered over his words, his face seeming to get more and more the colour of his hair.

"George, you don't have to explain your choices to me."

"I don't?" He looked at her with something behind his eyes, but Minka couldn't figure out what it was.

"No of course not. It's not like we're togeth-" She was cut off by his lips suddenly on hers. His one hand cradled the back of her head and the other pulled at her waist. She felt a fire build in her belly at his touch and she wanted nothing more than to respond. But she resisted.

She brought both her hands up and shoved him off.

"What the hell are you doing!?" She yelled. It was her turn to blush.

"You just said I didn't have to explain my choices." He said breathlessly. Minka opened her mouth to say something but then closed it. She went to do it again, but found she couldn't find words. She finally straightened herself and looked him straight in the eyes.

"You should get back to Angelina, and your store. We'll just pretend that this never happened."

"Minka-"

"NO! I will _NOT_ be that girl! You hear me now George Weasley, I will never do anything to hurt Angelina or you. You are with her and only her. She doesn't deserve this and neither do I."

"It's not like you gave me A CHOICE!" He yelled back. Minka felt herself jump, not expecting his anger. "I got no say in this! You decided it was done! I WANTED TO BE WITH YOU! I WANTED TO MAKE IT WORK!"

"And I told you no! It won't work!"

"Why?! And how do you know that!? It could have! What is so bad that we can't be together? We've managed to be friends for the past two months with no problems, what's wrong with being more than that? What could possibly go wrong!?"

"Because you'll get hurt!" There was a pause. George let out one small sarcastic laugh and spread his arms wide.

"I'm already hurting." He lowered his arms.

"Trust me, us being together won't happen even if we tried."

"Why not?"

Minka tossed her head back, attempting to keep hold of her tears. She was tired of almost crying and actually crying. She was about to explain when a customer walked through the door. When they were at the far wall display, Minka spoke again.

"You should go, George. Just…leave me alone." She turned her back to him, not being able to look at him anymore.

"I'm sorry, Minka. I didn't mean to complicate our friendship. I'm leaving tomorrow for my parent's house for the holiday. When I get back, we can just pretend this didn't happen and be friends again."

Minka nodded without turning. She heard the door open again. She spun around quickly.

"Wait." He stopped a moment, his face eager. "Stop by tomorrow night before you leave. I got you a present."

George gave her a small smile.

"Okay. And Minka?" He paused. "Thank you." He then shut the door behind him.


	7. Chapter 7

**Uninvited**

**I just wanted to say thank you to all those who have reviewed, favourited and followed this story. You are what make this story continue, and the reason I enjoy writing so much. Thank you for not only reading, but enjoying.**

"Are you sure you want to run this place by yourself for two weeks, Minka?"

"It'll be fine. I want you to enjoy your holidays. Besides, Christmas is in three days. Most of the rush is gone."

Daphne had been offered to go to Australia with her friends for Christmas and Minka was determined that she go.

"If you need me at any time, I'll make it home as soon as I can."

Minka rolled her eyes.

"Just say you'll go before I change my mind." Daphne nodded and then hugged Minka suddenly.

"Thank you. For being such a great boss." Minka brushed Daphne's hair out of her face.

"Have you been drinking?"

"No." She let her go. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm glad to be working here. And I want you to know that you can talk to me about anything."

Minka gave a weak smile.

"In that case, what if I told you that George came by last night and kissed me?" She spoke so fast that she could hardly understand herself. Daphne's eyes practically popped out of her head.

"He did what?" Minka just nodded.

"What like a 'hey happy holidays kiss on the cheek'? Or-"

"Like a 'I'm about to go off to war and it's like I'm never going to see you again' type. Well, at least he tried." Daphne's jaw dropped. Minka walked behind the counter to ring up some of the customers.

"But wait, what did you do?" She followed her behind the cash, not willing to wait to finish the conversation.

"I shoved him off and told him to go back to his girlfriend."

"You had him in the palm of your hand and you let him go?!"

"It doesn't matter. We agreed to just pretend it didn't happen and are still friends." Daphne looked at her skeptically as did the customer handing her the money for their purchase. "What?" The customer shook their head and left.

"You seriously think you can go back to being friends after that?"

"We've done it before. And we shall see, he's coming by soon so I can give him his present."

"Well, in that case, I am going to take off a little early. He'll be here to protect you if anymore psycho protesters come by and I don't want to interrupt any steamy, passionate, raunchy-"

"Daphne!" She immediately stopped and shut her mouth tight. The next customer looked back and forth between them, a little weary of what to think.

"Sorry." Daphne muttered to the customer. Once everyone had cleared out, Daphne grabbed her bag and kissed Minka on the cheek.

"Good luck, and I will see you in two weeks! Remember, just send me a letter if you need anything. And you better send me a letter about what happens tonight."

Minka rolled her eyes and gave Daphne a hug before she left. She closed the till quickly and did all the paper work. She ran upstairs to get George's present, making sure it's wrapping still looked neat.

She heard the door open downstairs and she quickly smoothed out her dress and combed her fingers through her hair. She stopped herself abruptly.

'_We're just friends.'_ She repeated over and over in her head. She made her way down the stairs and smiled.

"George I-" She stopped, her grin vanishing from her face. She slowly tucked George's present behind her back.

"George, why were you expecting George?" Killian asked, annoyance in his tone.

"Well, I was certainly not expecting you." She matched his tone as she walked over to the counter, placing George's present on one of the shelves behind it without him knowing. "I need you to leave." She walked past him and reached her hand out for the door handle. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him.

"I don't think so." He brushed his face against her cheek, inhaling.

"What are you doing? Killian, stop." She pushed against him and stepped back. "What the hell is wrong with you? How many times do I have to tell you this isn't going to happ-"

He slapped her hard and stepped toward her again. He held her head and began to kiss her lips forcefully. She pushed against him, trying to pry herself away. He growled against her lips and pushed her. She fell back, hitting her head against the counter.

Her vision sparkled with haze as she lay on the ground. She reached into her boot to pull out her wand, but he kicked her arm, sending her wand flying. She screamed as she felt the sting in her arm. Killian grabbed her legs and pulled her so she was lying completely flat on the ground. He then grabbed the end of her dress and began to tear.

"NO!" She swung one of her arms and wound up colliding with the side of his face. She felt her knuckles crack from the force and felt a few of her fingers throb in agony. It delayed him for a moment, and she quickly began to try and wiggle out from under him. He punched her across the cheek bone. Her mind went even fuzzier as she used her hands to push him off. She heard a sound ringing in her ears that was causing Killian to yell. She realized moments later that it was her own voice screaming.

He continued to tear at her dress as he leaned down to try and kiss her neck. All of his weight was suddenly lifted off of her, causing her to cough for a moment. She could hear movement in front of her and she sat up, trying to get her vision to focus.

George had Killian pinned to the ground and was hitting him repeatedly. Blood began to coat George's fist as he continued to punch. Killian's face became a bruised mess as his relentless attack continued.

"George." Minka's voice was soft and weak, but he heard her. George hoisted him up with no struggle and flung him out the door. George pulled out his wand and pointed it at Killian outside.

He must have left because George lowered his wand and shut the door. He locked it quickly and ran to kneel beside Minka. He pulled his coat off in one swift motion and swung it over Minka's shoulders. She flung her arms around George's neck and held him closely. She felt her breath becoming short and raspy. Small panicked noises escaped and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. She couldn't comprehend her reaction and simply tried to focus on George.

"It's okay. You're safe. Shhh, Minka. It's okay." He soothed as he held her close. He rocked back and forth and stroked the back of her head.

"It was all-happening-so fast…I didn't know…I couldn't-"

"Shhhh. Just breathe Minka." They stayed like that for a while. Her tears eventually subsided and her breath became even. She felt like she could fall asleep hugging him, until the pain in her fingers and face began to creep up and could no longer be ignored.

"He knows where I live." She said steadily. "He saw us outside my place. That night that we kissed."

She pulled away from him a little to look into his eyes.

"Who is he?" George asked carefully.

"He's the reason I left Ireland." She finally confessed. There was a long pause as George began to think.

"Okay, where's your purse?"

"Behind the counter, with your present." He nodded and quickly grabbed both. He put his present in her purse and swung it over his shoulder. He noticed her wand against the far wall and placed it in her purse as well. He picked her up, cradling her to his body and brought her over to his store. He managed to carry her all the way up to the apartment that sat on the top floor of the building.

"I used to live up here with my brother. I stay here every now and then if I'm late getting out of work." He explained, sitting her down on the couch. He left her there for a moment and came back with a pair of pajama bottoms and a collared t-shirt.

"It's all I really have, if you wanted to change. I'll make us some tea." He placed the clothes on the side of the couch and went into the kitchen. Minka quickly changed into the clothes. The pants were far too long and she had to roll them up several times. The draw string was tightened as much as possible. She couldn't do much about the shirt as it hung extremely loose. She did up the buttons at the front of the shirt as high as possible.

He came back in with two mugs and sat next to her. His hand was free from blood now, but bruising was already beginning to show.

"You look nice." He said handing her a mug.

"I reckon I'm ready for a royal ball." She muttered back, feeling protest in the side of her face from speaking. She took one sip and tucked her knees up close to her. She felt the throb in her fingers begin to dull slightly. She continued to drink her tea, letting the silence of the apartment fill her thoughts. There was a loud snap in her cheek, causing her to shout.

"Christ!" She screamed touching her cheek.

"Sorry, I put some healing potion in our tea. You're cheek bone was broken. It just snapped back into place." He then flinched himself, looking down at his one hand. She watched as one of his fingers snapped back into place.

"You broke your hand?" She whispered.

"The bastard had a thick head." Minka felt herself smile, a small laugh escaping.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be laughing. I don't know why I am." She took in a long breath and exhaled.

"I don't expect you to be acting normal right now." There was another bit of silence as they sipped the last of their tea.

"We're stopping off at your place so you can pack." George placed his cup on the table and stood up. He grabbed his jacket and held it out for Minka to slip her arms into.

"Pack for what?"

"You're coming with me for the holidays." Minka stood up and let George put the coat on her.

"But-"

"No, I'm not leaving you here. We'll get in and out of your place quickly and then head for The Burrow."

George kept an eye out in the hall as Minka packed her bag quickly, throwing in everything her hands could grab. Before she left, she changed into her own clothes and then headed back out into the hall.

They apparated from there and landed in the same field they had landed near The Burrow as before.

"Are you sure about me being here? Won't it be awkward to explain to your family?"

"I wasn't really worried about explaining it to my family. I'm more worried about explaining it to Angelina."

"She doesn't know what happened, does she?"

"No. But we're friends. And she should understand that you're my friend who I saved from being attacked and who is now staying with me so I can protect you."

Minka raised an eye brow in skepticism.

"Yeah…it doesn't sound good."

"Nope."

They knocked on the door and Molly answered with as much enthusiasm as last time. Although this time she was a little more confused.

"Minka, we weren't expecting to see you. But still, it's so glad to see you again." She gave her a hug. "For now it's just you two. The rest will be here tomorrow."

"Mum, can I speak to you?" Molly nodded. He led her off into the kitchen as Minka went to sit on the couch in their family room. She waited patiently, picking at a loose thread on her jeans.

Finally, George emerged, giving her a smile.

"I'll show you to your room." She stood up and followed him up the stairs.

"What did you tell her?"

"I'm sorry, I couldn't lie to her. I told her that you were attacked and it was safer for you to stay with us." He stopped on the first landing and looked into her eyes. "Please don't be mad."

"George, you saved me from Killian. Not to mention, you are still saving me by letting me stay with you." His face glowed in the candlelight of the landing. She leaned in and kissed his cheek softly. "I have nothing but gratitude." He smiled at her and continued to lead her up the stairs.

He opened the door to one of the bedrooms on the third floor and placed her bag onto the bed. Minka stepped in, her arms wrapped tightly around herself. She sat on the edge of the bed and looked around the room. It was warm and very cozy.

"Minka?" She turned to look up at him. He moved to sit in the chair across from her. He leaned forward and held her gaze. "I think it's time you told me what happened to you." Minka looked back and forth between his eyes. She owed him so much. She thought of telling him everything, and instead of fear, she felt nothing but relief if she finally confessed.

She took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly.

"Okay."


	8. Chapter 8

**Minka's Story**

"I met Killian at a party my friends and I went to about a year ago. He was sweet, charming, everything he's not. As the night went on, I felt myself starting to like him a lot. We went on a few dates and it was crazy how much I wanted to be around him and speak to him. But I figured this is what falling in love is like.'

'I moved in with him about a month after we started seeing each other. I had never done anything impulsively in my life before so I found it exciting. It was after we moved in together that he started showing what he really was."

"And what was that?"

"Violent, hurtful, ill-tempered, selfish. I tried to keep him happy because all I wanted was to please him. A big part of me was wondering why I was putting up with all of this, but I couldn't bring myself to leave him. It came to a point where he would get physical and…I always had bruises. But I would stay.'

'This one day, I came home to him with another girl in our bed. She had bruises too and she looked terrified, like she didn't want to be there. For the first time, I got angry at him for treating me horribly. Instead of being apologetic or guilty, he just got angry back.'

'I pretended everything was okay because I didn't want him to get any angrier. A few days later, I went to visit my parents for a week in Australia because they had finally settled into their new home. He gave me a necklace as a way of apologizing-or so he said.'

'I told them everything that had happened and they urged me to get out of there. But I resisted their pleas; I even got mad that they wanted me to leave. My father got suspicious, knowing this wasn't normal of me. He finally asked me 'if I hit your mother, what would you say?' and I told him 'I'd tell her to leave you.' But I just couldn't see the problem when it came to Killian.'

'My father made this potion and made me drink it. I wound up throwing up horribly over and over. My necklace began to burn my skin. It was a potion that would cause all current magic being compelled on the person to be rejected.'

'…It turns out Killian had been slipping a potion into my meals that would make me want to stay with him. The fact that I couldn't stop throwing up for a while meant he had been using it for a very long time. Possibly the entire time we were together.'

'It hit me almost instantly that everything Killian was doing was wrong. I came back home while he was at work and took all my things. Without a word I just…left."

Minka fell silent, letting everything she said sink in for George. He was now sitting back in the chair, his one hand rubbing back and forth over his mouth. He stared at her without seeing, everything slowly being absorbed.

He removed his hand from his face and then finally seemed to focus. He leaned forward slowly.

"Minka-"

"Please, don't apologize for what happened. I thank you for wanting to but I just…I don't want pity for it." He reached out and held her hand.

"It's not pity, Minka. I wanted to apologize for not beating him even harder." Minka let out a laugh, she quickly stopped but couldn't help but continue to smile. "This…certainly explains a lot." He added.

"I'm just afraid of my own feelings. I don't trust the way I feel about people, whether they're my own or not. If I reject people and tell them no then I know it's me who is making the choice, not someone else."

"So that's why you didn't want to be with me all this time?"

"Well, no. Killian was threatening your life. He said he'd kill you if I didn't stay away." George's eyes flared with anger. He took in a deep, agitated breathe. He wiped away his anger and looked at her with caution.

"He's still controlling you then. You didn't reject me because those were your feelings; you did it because that's what he wanted." Minka felt her heart sink and her stomach turn.

"Oh…shit." She muttered.

"Hey, it's okay. Now that I know everything, _you_ have to know that I'm not going anywhere. I don't care about his threats and I certainly don't care about what he wants. And besides, he won't be bugging you anymore. If he does come around, he'll get a lot worse than what happened today."

"Thank you, George." He gave a small smile and then stood up. Minka stood up with him.

"You should get some rest. You going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine." He went to reach out and give her a hug but she flinched back. "Sorry. It's not you - I just…after what happened tonight I-"

"No it's okay. I get it." Minka knew he obviously wouldn't hurt her if he hugged her. It was just the idea of such close proximity to someone after the night's events and diving into her past made her uneasy.

"Well, Goodnight Minka."

"Goodnight."

He closed the door behind him, leaving Minka to her privacy.

….

She awoke the next morning to find Molly already up and cooking breakfast. Minka had gotten dressed before she came down and realized it was unnecessary as she saw Molly in her old knitted house coat.

"Morning dear. Take a seat, breakfast is almost ready."

Minka sat at the table, wowed by how much food was already on the table.

"This is wonderful Mrs. Weasley. Thank you." She brought the last of it over and Minka began to put piles of food onto her plate.

"Glad to see you have an appetite. Take as much as you like. I'll go get Arthur and George." She made her way up the stairs as Minka began to scarf down the large meal.

George came down in a pair of white and blue striped pajamas. His father followed him in a pair of brown ones and a flopped hat with a puff ball on the end. George went to sit next to Minka, letting out a giant yawn.

"Nice " Minka uttered through a mouthful of pancakes.

"Nice mouth. Syrup the new lipstick?" He watched with amusement as Minka wiped her face with her napkin. "How'd you sleep?"

Minka swallowed her food before she answered. "As well as someone can under these circumstances."

They ate dinner with his parents without bringing up what had happened the night before. It was peaceful and Minka felt herself relaxing more and more every minute.

Later in the afternoon, George and Minka were sent upstairs so Molly could clean the main floor before everyone arrived. They found themselves playing wizard's chest on the floor of George's room as they waited.

"So, why London of all places to move?" George asked.

"It's where I was originally from. Now that it was safer to be in London since the war, it just felt the safest overall. I guess it would have been smarter to go somewhere completely new. But I just wanted to be somewhere at least a little familiar…queen to D five…and check mate." Minka felt herself grin as she watched George's face fall in defeat.

"I feel hustled."

They could hear the commotion of people arriving downstairs as they began to pack up their game. They headed down to see that Charlie, Bill and Fleur had arrived.

"You all remember Minka. She'll be staying with us for the holidays." George re-introduced her. Harry and Ginny arrived next and Minka stood back to watch the family all greet each other.

"So, my brother shows up with an extra date and here I am without any." Charlie said, standing beside her.

"I'm not an _extra_ date. Just a friend."

"If that's your story." Minka looked up at him and then back at the crowd, laughing to herself. Ron, Hermione and Percy arrived soon after and then it was Angelina's turn.

She gave George a kiss much too long for being in front of his family. Minka held her laughter back as his face flushed a tomato red. He re-introduced Angelina to everyone. When it came time to introduce Minka, he stuttered.

"This is um…uh, well-"

"Minka, my date. Honestly, George. I can't believe you've already forgotten her." Charlie interjected, putting an arm around Minka. She felt herself tense at his touch, but tried to keep a straight face.

"Hi Minka, so good to see you a-…uh for the first time." Angelina winked as she shook her hand. Angelina realized that she would have to explain how she knew Minka, and she didn't want to spoil her present to George.

Angelina moved on to talking to someone else and Minka took this opportunity to look up at Charlie with raised eyebrows.

"For the sake of keeping George out of hot water only." Charlie held his hands out to show innocence.

"Okay, fine. But if you even try and sneak into my room we are so over Charlie Weasley." She whispered, adding in a wink. Charlie smiled in response. He leaned in close to her.

"Also maybe to try and get George jealous. We're all secretly pulling for you." He kissed her cheek quickly and then walked over to Bill. Minka watched as he walked away and then caught George's eye. He seemed relieved, but at the same time he still looked tense about something.

She spent most of the night with Charlie who she remembered to be very interesting to talk to. Later in the night-to Molly's protest-a game of Quidditch broke out in the backyard.

Minka sat out the first round, leaving her to stand next to Fleur and Angelina.

"So, how long have you and Charlie been together?"

"Oh…not long." She kept her eye on the field, attempting not to make eye contact. They were eventually called onto the field to play, Angelina much more hesitant. They decided to have a girls v.s boys match. Minka was completely okay with that because that meant Ginny was on their team, and she was the only professional player in the bunch. Minka and George were put on as Chasers despite George being a Beater in school. Ginny pretty much played the game single-handedly and was actually getting the girls in the lead.

At one point, Hermione managed to get the ball and accidently flung it across the cornfield, attempting to throw it to Minka. Minka chased after it as fast as she could.

She was shoved by George while flying, causing her to break out in a fit of laughter.

"You can try old man!"

"Old man!? I'm the same age as yo-" A bludger came from nowhere and hit the side of George's broom. He lost control for a moment and went crashing to the ground.

"YES!" Came a shout. Minka grabbed the quaffle and turned around. She saw Ginny with Fleur's bat in her hand. She raised it in the air cheering at her hit. Minka threw the quaffle back to them and sailed to the ground to find George.

"George?" She walked through the field a little bit and found where he had landed, but he wasn't there. "Aww George, it's okay! I won't make fun of you! I can't say the same for your sister though." She turned round and round attempting to find him, thinking he probably already flew off.

"George?" She called once more.

"BOO!" Minka jumped at the sudden shout and screamed. She swung her broom. It collided with the side of George's face, sending him to the ground.

"Oh my god…I am _so_ sorry!" She bent down beside him as he held his cheek.

"Remind me to never sneak up on you ever again!" He spit and a bit of blood came out.

"Oh god, you're bleeding." Minka shoved his hand out of the way and saw that the side of his lip had split slightly but that was the only damage. She pulled out a tissue from her pocket and began to wipe at his lip. "It's not too bad."

"I better not be missing teeth."

"No, just your pride." She finished cleaning up the last of the blood with a smile on her face. George quickly picked up a handful of snow and shoved it into the side of her face.

"I will let that slide, due to your injury." Minka said as she wiped her own face off. They walked back to the field, throwing odd snowballs at each other as they went. They came back into the field to see everyone was on the ground.

"What happened? We heard you scream." Hermione asked walking over to them.

"Oh, I saw George's face."

"Oooh, brutal." Charlie commented as he cringed.

"Still better than yours." George retorted at Charlie.

"Hot chocolate's ready!" Molly called from the house. They all slowly walked into the house, George and Minka last.

"I really am sorry about hitting you."

"It's okay. It was more of a shock than anything. I didn't realize you had such a mean swing."

Minka looked up at him and smiled, which he returned. She looked forward to see Angelina looking behind her at them, her face filled with confusion.

"I'm going to go find Charlie."

"Hey yeah, what's with that?"

"It's called saving your ass." Minka whispered and departed from his side.

Everyone was scattered around the living room by the fire with their own mug of hot chocolate. Most of the couples were cozied up together somewhere on a couch or on the floor speaking quietly. Minka and Charlie just sat next to each other awkwardly.

"It's like being stuck on a couple's retreat or something."

"No kidding." She muttered back. She looked over to see Angelina and George smiling at each other, exchanging light kisses every once and a while. Minka looked down at her mug, feeling her stomach knot.

"You really like him don't you?" Charlie spoke softly so no one else could hear them.

"Oh…no. We're just um…"

"Friends?" Minka nodded and looked back up at them.

"Yep. Just friends." She felt herself not being able to watch them anymore and set her mug down. "I'm heading to bed. Goodnight, Charlie."

"'Night, Minka." She got up without another word and headed for the staircase, unbeknownst to her that George was watching her as she ascended.


	9. Chapter 9

**Your Secrets Are Showing**

Minka could hear snoring from several different levels above her as she stepped out of her room. She headed down the stairs to the kitchen and found only Angelina was up. She was reading the newspaper with a cup of tea beside her.

"Oh, morning. Kettle is still hot if you'd like some." Angelina spoke softly but not in a whisper, knowing everyone was still several floors up.

"Oh, thank you." Minka made herself a cup and sat across from Angelina. "Anything interesting?" She asked, nodding towards the paper.

"No, just more articles about the holiday season." They stayed in silence for a moment as Angelina continued to flip through the paper.

"So, what brings you to the Weasley's for the holidays? Family out of town?" Minka asked.

"They're around." Angelina set aside the paper and looked up at Minka. "Truth is, I was just worried about George. We were really close friends in school, along with his brother, Fred. I actually went on a date with Fred first but, it didn't work out. Who knew it would be so different with his identical twin? They seemed so similar, but they really were their own personalities. Anyway, neither of us have really been the same since Fred died. I just really wanted to be here for him knowing he still hasn't gotten over it. I need to know he's going to be okay. He's already lost the closest person to him, and I want him to know that he's not going to lose anyone else."

Minka felt her heart swell with appreciation for Angelina.

"You're a really good person, Angelina." Angelina waved her off with a smile.

"No, just someone who needs to know the people close to her are being taken care of."

"I'd say that makes you a good person."

"Well, thank you. I know I was a little…over the top with George sometimes. But I just missed having that feeling of closeness with someone. I haven't felt that since…" She trailed off, hesitant on what to say next.

"Since you were last together?"

"Not…exactly." Minka blinked and awaited an answer. Angelina leaned forward, her hands folded together on the table. "I met someone a while back and…we were actually engaged. But…" Her face grew weary and sad. She looked down at her hands for a moment, her mind wandering.

"Hey, you don't have to talk about it." She spoke gently, placing a hand over Angelina's crossed hands.

"No, no it's fine." Angelina inhaled deeply and then looked back up. "I need to get this out. You have to know what's happened." She sat up a little straighter, confidence beginning to show in her voice. "His name was Peter. He was exactly what I needed after the war when I just felt so lost with everything that had happened. So many of my friends had passed or were completely altered by what happened that sometimes it was hard to believe we really had won. But Peter helped me see that the world still was a great place. A couple months after we got engaged, I wound up getting pregnant. We were both so happy and excited to start this whole new family…but I wound up losing the baby within just a few months. After that I just found myself…not happy or appreciative of anything else I had again. I wound up leaving Peter. I could hardly look at him without feeling the heartbreak start all over again. For the longest time, I just shut out everything around me. I hadn't actually spoken to George or any of my friends for a while. It was only a few months back when I ran into him again that we rekindled our friendship. I needed to get over this grief and who better to know that kind of grief then George? Not to mention, I just felt so horrible for the disconnect in the first place. I shouldn't have shut out everyone like that."

"Well, I'm sure everyone understood."

"They did. But, I should have been there-"

"Hey, everyone has their own problems. Your friends and family are there for you just as much as you're there for them. It's okay if you had to deal with your own for a while." Minka squeezed one of Angelina's hands in comfort. "And I'm sorry for what happened. No one should know the feeling of losing their own child. And I'm also sorry if I'm terrible at pep talks."

Angelina smiled and let out a small laugh. "No, you're doing just fine. Thank you, Minka. That means a lot. Especially given our common history."

"What do you mean?"

"George told me everything last night."

"Oh, I-" Minka let go of Angelina's hand, but Angelina quickly grabbed hers.

"It's okay, I'm not mad. I had my own confessions to make, as you just heard. By the sounds of it, our relationship was based off of ignoring how we really feel."

Minka looked over by the counter and saw a trunk with a bag sitting on top.

"You're leaving? On Christmas Eve?"

"I need to find Peter. And George needs to do what will make him happy."

"This is all really sudden." Angelina laughed in response getting up to grab her bag.

"This whole mess was already here. It was just about time we corrected it. I was hoping to see you before I left. I needed to explain that this wasn't your fault and thank you for making George happy again."

"Yeah…I've really been doing a bad job with that."

"You just being in his life has made him better. I also wanted to see you to give this back." She walked over to her bag and pulled out the Dream Catcher she had bought for George. "Looks like I won't be needing that trip with him after all." She set it on the table in front of Minka. The light reflecting through the windows bounced off the chest, causing the wave-like glass to glow in the morning sun.

Minka smiled as she picked up the Dream Catcher.

"Stop by any time to redeem your store credit." Minka stood up to walk Angelina to the door.

"Thank you for telling me all that, by the way. I know it must have been hard to say to a total stranger." Minka added as Angelina shrugged on her coat.

"Well, hopefully you won't be a total stranger forever. I like you, Minka. I think we could be friends."

"I'd like that." They genuinely smiled at each other and then it was time for her to go. They said a few goodbyes and then she was gone.

Minka sat at the kitchen table for a while, thinking of everything Angelina had told her. It had all happened so suddenly, she wasn't sure how to process it all. Eventually Charlie came down and gave a floppy sideways smile.

"Why hello oh dearest one of mine." He spoke louder and more dramatic than necessary.

"Charlie, it's okay. Angelina's gone."

"What'd you do? Tell her George was your man and she had no business being here?"

"No! She just had her own things to work out."

"If that's your story." He placed the kettle back onto the stove to reheat. He turned to see Minka glaring at him. "Okay, okay I believe you. It was nice seeing her again though."

Minka nodded as she got up to put her mug in the sink.

"So, shall we make breakfast for everyone?" Charlie asked, tossing an apple in the air.

"Sure, I call making the crumpets."

"Good, because I have no idea how to do that. I'll make bacon and eggs."

They began to cook away as everyone else snoozed away upstairs.

"Oh no! You are _our_ guest! You shouldn't be cooking!" They turned to see Molly storming down the stairs.

"It's okay mum, we don't mind."

"No, you can go ahead and cook to your heart's content given the amount of meals I've cooked for you over the years Charlie. I was talking to Minka." She walked over to Minka and patted her arm. "You really don't have to do this, my dear."

"It's fine Mrs. Weasley. Really. It's the least I could do for you for letting me stay here over the holidays."

"Oh, how could I not? After everything you went through?" Molly stroked the back of Minka's hair like a concerned mother would. "How are you by the way? I never got a chance to ask."

"Much better since I've been here." She answered honestly.

"Why, what happened?" Charlie asked.

"Oh, um. I was-"

"Charlie, stop pestering her with questions and get to that bacon, you're going to burn it!" Molly scolded. She winked at Minka with a smile as Charlie turned back to the stove, shaking his head.

By the time they had finished, the smell of bacon had risen throughout the house, causing everyone to come down and eat. George was last, looking a little confused. He walked over to Minka and stole a piece of bacon off of the serving plate.

"Where's Angelina?" He asked, shoving the whole piece into his mouth.

"She left. She said she was going off to find Peter." He stopped mid chew and simply looked into Minka's eyes. He resumed chewing and nodded, a smile creeping up on his lips.

"Good for her." He said quietly.

"Finally broke down and told her what happened between us?"

"Yeah, about that. I didn't tell her _everything_. I didn't mention Killian or the specific reasoning of why we stayed away from each other…Oh Minka, I'm sorry." Minka had flinched when she heard Killian's name, and she was straining to keep a straight face.

"No, it's okay." She tried to wave it off like it was nothing. She picked up a few of the serving plates and headed over to the table to set them down.

After breakfast, everyone headed upstairs to get dressed except for Arthur who sat in the recliner in the sitting room and began to read the newspaper.

When Minka came back down the stairs, George, Harry and Ron were all huddled around something.

"What's going on?" Minka walked over to Ginny and Hermione who were standing watching them as well.

"No clue, but it can't be anything good." Ginny replied. They broke up their little huddle and George was slinging a bag over his shoulder.

"How does everyone feel about a walk?" Ron asked, walking up to them.

"Honestly, what do you have planned now? We're a little old to be doing something stupid."

"We're twenty, Hermione. Not eighty." He grabbed her hand and headed for the door, her rolling her eyes. Ginny and Minka exchanged a shrug and headed for the door as well. Everyone began to step into their winter boots and coats.

"Mum! We're all going to go for a walk together!" George called to Molly.

"This better not be an excuse for you to go out and try some new products of yours George Weasley! We're still getting out the burn marks from the last time!" She came out of the kitchen to wave her finger at George.

"Relax mum, that's why we're going outside." He kissed her cheek and quickly walked over to everyone to head out the door. He grabbed Minka's hand on the way. "Let's go everyone." He muttered under his breath. Everyone stepped outside quickly before Molly could protest further.

"Zis better not be dang'erous." Fleur said softly to Bill.

They all stepped through the snow out into the cornfields where the stocks were still incredibly high.

"How is this possible considering its winter?" Minka asked, brushing a few stocks out of her face.

"Well, you see Minka. As I've explained before, there's this crazy thing called magic." George replied, smirking at her. She gave him a glare.

They continued through the crops until they came to an open field.

"Alright George. What do you have now that could potentially blow us all up?" Charlie asked. They all spread out on the field as George set his bag down in the snow and began to sift through it.

"I'm glad you asked. I'll take that as you volunteering for the first one. Catch." He stood up and threw something at Charlie. He caught whatever it was and eyed it curiously.

"I don't understand. What does it do-" A loud bang emanated through the air as Charlie was thrown across the field. He landed with a thud, immediately yelling and cursing as he picked himself up off the ground. Small pieces of confetti flew all around him.

"Was it…supposed to do that?" Hermione asked, confusion written across her face.

"Oops, I gave him the wrong one." He dug back into his bag and pulled out another item. "Sorry, Charlie. Here, catch this one."

"Oh no! I am not taking another of those!" He had walked back over, pointing an accusing finger at George.

"No! It's different I swear!"

"Don't you dare throw it at me!" He took a few steps back and continued to glare at him.

"Fine, Minka." He threw it at her and she caught it wearily. It was a small silver ball, nothing particularly interesting about it. She then noticed a very small button on it. She looked up at George who nodded in encouragement. Everyone else just looked at her in worry. She noticed Hermione take a few steps back from her.

Minka clicked the little button. A small hole opened on the ball and smoke began to poor out. It flew out towards the centre of the field and rose up, beginning to take on a sort of form. The smoke began to change colours and almost become more solid. It stopped emanating from the ball. Everyone watched as it slowly took form in the field and then it suddenly wasn't smoke anymore, but a person. It was Minka. An exact duplicate of her stood in the centre of the field.

"Bloody hell." Ron muttered beside her.

The false Minka looked around the group and then began to smile and wave at everyone.

"You made a device that turns into Minka?" Ginny asked, her voice skeptical. "That's a little perverted of you, brother."

"What? No! I made a device that turns into whoever presses the button on it."

"Sure, sure."

Minka walked up to the false her so they were face to face. The false Minka just smiled at her.

"Can she talk?"

"No. But I thought it would be a good device for sneaking out of school or the house."

Minka held her hand out to touch her, which only went right through her, sending a smoke vibration through the mirage.

"They can only be touched with inanimate objects without it disrupting their construction." George added. "Just click that button again to put her back."

Minka clicked the button and the mirage disintegrated into smoke once again and flew back into the ball.

"Pretty amazing." Minka tossed it back to him.

"Thank you. At least someone here appreciates my talent."

"I would if you didn't use it for getting students out of class." Hermione chimed in.

George showed them a few more of his new inventions, and then they began to disperse around the field.

Ginny and Hermione began to cast different spells to put together a large snowman family as some of the boys got into a snowball fight. A few of the other boys had created a very large castle-like snow fort. Minka sat on top of one of the turrets on the snow fort as she watched some of the boys continue their snowball fight.

George went to sit next to her, his hair coated with melting snow.

"And I thought you were the only childish one in your family." Minka said, nodding towards the snowball fight that was currently turning on the girls making the snowmen.

"They've all learned to take life a little less serious. Ever since…"

"The war?" George simply nodded, his smile fading. After a long pause, Minka felt her curiosity finally get the better of her. "George?" He turned to look at her. She reached one of her hands out and touched his mangled ear lightly. "What happened?"

"It was less than a year before the war at Hogwarts. We were moving Harry here to keep him safe. A hex wound up just missing me. Or rather, just hitting me."

"Can you hear out of it at all?" He shook his head no.

"I learned to be okay with it pretty fast. The only thing that I didn't like was that Fred and I couldn't pretend to switch places anymore. But I guess that doesn't matter now." His voice grew more quiet and solemn with every sentence.

"George…"

"Not now, okay? It's Christmas Eve."

"You need to talk about it with me one day."

"Not today." His tone indicated he was done discussing it. He removed her hand from his face and stood up to leave.

Minka sighed heavily and looked back over to the group which were all lying on the ground, exhausted. Fleur was coming out of hiding from behind a snowman. She watched as George picked up his bag and headed back towards the house.

She hopped down from the fort and ran after him.

"George!" She shouted after him, but he didn't turn to look or slow for her to catch up. "Come on, would you wait up?" He disappeared into the corn field, but she was determined to catch up. "George! This is ridiculous! Come back!"

He stopped and turned abruptly, causing Minka to knock right into him.

"What, Minka?" She felt herself waver under his stare.

"I…um…never mind. Sorry if I upset you." She turned to head back when he grabbed her arm, sending habitual alarms to ring in her mind. He pulled her to him, inclining his head closer and closer to hers. She quickly brought a hand up and slapped him across the face. He staggered back as Minka felt her adrenaline pump surge through her. Her breathe became heavy and quick, tears stinging her eyes. Her mind came back down from its panic and she realized what she had done.

"Oh, god. George, I'm sorry. I just-" She covered her mouth, feeling the panic bubble back up. Her mind flashed to Killian's attack, only making it worse.

"Minka-"

But she didn't stay to hear what he had to say. She ran past him towards the house, running up to her room and leaning against the door. She slowly slid down the door and hugged her knees to her chest. She felt an awful guilt rage in herself for reacting the way she did to George. She began to slowly process what he intended to do and realized that it was something she wouldn't mind happening. But another part of her mind-as well as her past-had created conflicting emotions towards his attempt.

"Stupid." She muttered to herself, bringing her forehead down onto her knees. Her panic and adrenaline had left her and she felt several things at once. Mostly stupidity for her reaction, as well as for running off like she had. She felt tired from it all as her body began to crash from the adrenaline. She stood up and kicked her boots off. She pulled her jacket and scarf off and collapsed onto her bed. She closed her eyes slowly, taking in a deep breath.

She fell asleep almost instantly.


	10. Chapter 10

**Minka's Tornado**

Minka felt her mind sink slowly back to the real world. She had slept dreamlessly which she was perfectly okay with. She brought her hands up to rub her eyes, trying to wipe the grogginess from her mind.

"About time you woke up." A voice said close to her. She sat up quickly from  
being startled, feeling her heart throb in her ears.

"Hey, it's okay. It's me." Her eyes focused and she saw Molly sitting on the side of the bed. She reached a hand out to put over Minka's hand. "I'm sorry sweetheart, I didn't mean to startle you."

"How long have I been asleep?"

"A few hours. You missed lunch, but I figured you should rest."

"Do you know what happened?"

"My son was likely not being a very good gentleman to you." Minka smiled and looked down at the sheets.

"I think it's me who isn't being very good to him, actually. I keep over reacting to things that really aren't his fault."

"Well, I don't know what has happened between you two. But you should know that George really cares about you. Even if he is a bit thick sometimes. Anyway, I just came up to see if you were alright." Molly patted Minka's hand.

"I'm fine, thank you. I think I need to go talk to George though."

"He's up in his room. Feel free to yell at him for the stupid things he does. Merlin knows he needs it." She patted her hand one last time and got up to leave.

Minka got up and brushed her hair, new tangles having formed from sleeping. She decided to change her clothes as well since the ones she was wearing were now wrinkled.

She went up a few floors to George's room. She took in a few steady breaths and then knocked lightly.

"I'm fine Mum. Stop checking on me!" She heard him yell. She opened the door to find George sitting on his bed. He was sitting next to…Minka.

Minka looked back and forth between her duplicate. He stood up quickly on his bed and quickly clicked the button on the device in his hand. The Minka on the bed disappeared like it had out in the field.

George's face was crimson, an uneasy half smile on his face. Minka simply stood there speechless, unsure what to do.

"Uh, I'm sorry. I was just…practicing."

"Practicing? What exactly?"

"Talking to you." Minka watched his adam's apple bob as he took a hard swallow.

"Well, at least I was still clothed." Minka walked in and shut the door behind her. George's face only seemed to grow more red. "I just wanted to come up and apologize."

"Apologize? For what? I'm the one who should." He sat back down on the bed and Minka followed suit to sit beside him. "I'm the one who pushed you away again. And then I proceeded to not only bring up bad memories but show you how I feel in the worst way possib-"

Minka quickly covered his mouth with her finger.

"I brought you something." She held out his present still wrapped up in her other hand. "I thought it would be best to give it to you in private."

One of his eyebrows shot up quizzically. Minka rolled her eyes.

"Nothing like that." Minka removed her hand from his face. He took the present from her hand and unwrapped it carefully.

He placed the wrapping to the side to admire his gift. It was a small glass Dream Catcher. On the centre of the lid was the letter 'F' etched into it.

"I don't know everything. And that's okay. But, it doesn't take a genius to see that you miss your brother. This Dream Catcher is about Fed. You simply write a memory you want to remember or even an event you wish you could have shared with him or want to share with him and place it in. And it will play out either exactly how it happened, or how Fred truly would have reacted." There was a silence as George held the little box.

"How?" He whispered.

"Just place an item that belonged to him inside before anything else, and it will forever hold his knowledge, his memories, his personality. Everything." Another long silence.

"Thank you…" His voice was hardly audible. That's when Minka noticed the tears in his eyes. They slowly began to make way down his cheeks. She reached out and wiped a few off with her fingers. He turned to her, his eyes glassy with tears. She brought both her hands up and continued to wipe at his face. He closed his eyes as she did. Once the tears were all gone, Minka kissed both his cheeks lightly. He opened his eyes then, seeing that they were completely clear now.

She then brought her lips to his slowly. She kissed him so lightly, she wasn't even sure they had even touched. She brought her head back slightly to look into his eyes. He still seemed to be stunned or off in some other world. And then he closed the space between them again, crushing his lips against hers.

He put the Dream Catcher to his side and then reached up to grab either side of her face. They stayed like that for a long time. Both of them just completely intent on each other. Minka felt like her heart was bursting with excitement. She hadn't realized how badly she had wanted this.

Her one hand moved through his hair, gripping every now and then. The other she had wrapped around him, trying to pull him closer. His hands seemed to continuously move from her face, to her shoulders, to her waist and then back again. He slowly began to kiss down her jaw and then to her neck. He whispered her name as he began to kiss her neck.

"Hey George! We're-oh god!" They broke apart quickly to see that Ginny had opened the door. "Sorry…um…oh I'm just going to leave." She quickly shut the door and her footsteps echoed as she made her way back upstairs.

They both sat there breathing heavily for a moment. They slowly looked back at each other and began to smile.

"Well that was…um."

"Very." Minka replied. George reached over and took one of her hands.

"So, where does this leave us?" He asked gently. Minka looked down at their intertwined hands and felt her heart swell with happiness again.

"I don't know. Maybe, just…try taking it slowly. For both our sakes."

"So…we can't do that again?" He asked, stroking a thumb across her lips.

"Oh, we can do that all over again for as long as you want. But, we're both pretty fragile in the emotions department. I say we keep that part light hearted and…fun for now. Do you know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I do. I've never dated anyone who'd rather focus on the physical part as opposed to the emotional part." He leaned in and kissed her cheek and continued to kiss down to her neck.

"We're not exactly in a normal situation, are we?" He pulled away slowly and looked into her eyes.

"Your ex comes into town and harasses you and mine comes _back_ into town and tries to get over her ex fiancee by trying again with me. Happens all the time right?" Minka rolled her eyes and kissed him quickly on the lips.

"I'm going to go see if I can get something to eat."

"Okay. I've got to step out for a bit. Something I need to go do. I'll be back in time for dinner."

Minka nodded and he pulled her in for one last kiss.

"Thank you again."

…..

Minka felt the strange feeling of vertigo the next morning as she began to wake up. It was like quick jolts bouncing her body up and down. She groaned and quickly brought a hand to her head.

As her mind began to set back into reality, she realized it wasn't vertigo, but something-or rather someone-jumping on the bed.

She turned over to look up and rubbed her eyes. George was bouncing up and down, causing the bed to wine and creek in protest.

"What are you doing?" She grumbled. She turned back over and shut her eyes tight.

"It's Christmas! It's Christmas! Get up!"

"George! Come on! Aren't you a little old for this?" She felt herself laugh as she turned back around.

"How can anyone be too old for Christmas?" He flopped down onto the bed. He began to shake her back and forth wildly.

"Oh my god! Okay!" She pushed him, causing him to rock back. He hopped off her bed and ran up the stairs. Faintly, she could hear him yelling wake up again. She could hear Charlie yelling at him. She rolled her eyes and made her way down the stairs.

She was suddenly overwhelmed by all the delicious smells filling her nostrils. Molly was cooking away in the kitchen. Spoons and spatulas floated in the air, hovering over different pots and pans.

"Happy Christmas, dear." Molly came over and gave Minka a hug.

"Happy Christmas. It smells wonderful." Minka sat at the table as different dishes came floating over, settling nicely in a neat order. Arthur was already sitting at the table, looking ready to jump into the food.

Several footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs, voices accompanying them. George had Ginny on his back, attempting to piggy back her. He teetered back and forth several times, getting in the way of the floating plates. Ginny was laughing away as she attempted to steady herself on his back.

"This was much easier when you were four." George muttered in a strained voice. He walked over to the table and plopped her down into one of the chairs.

"Not my fault you don't keep in shape."

The table filled with several red headed bed heads as the last of the food was finally set. Molly hugged everyone before she went and took her own seat.

As soon as she sat down everyone dug into the food, all the while chatting heartily about past Christmases and hinting at each other's presents.

Once breakfast was finally done, they all headed over to the sitting area where the Christmas tree glowed with pride.

Minka stood at the edge of the room and watched as everyone exchanged one present or another. She felt a hand touch her elbow. She turned to see Ron.

"Thank you. For giving us our brother back. It's all we could have asked for." He surprised her even more by hugging her tightly.

"You're welcome but, I really don't think I did much." He pulled away and looked at her quizzically.

"Trust me, you really have made a difference. We haven't spent Christmas with him in a long time. We've also never seem him smile so much. Hell, we haven't seen Mum smile so much."

Minka turned to look at Molly. She was sitting on the couch next to Arthur, watching her children open their different presents. Her face had nothing but pure joy.

Ron patted her shoulder gently and then went to go join Hermione on the floor by the tree. She handed him a small gift box as he did.

George came up to her a few minutes later and handed her a gift.

"Here." He kissed her on the forehead and then stepped back, waiting for her to open it. She figured this is what he had to go out and get yesterday.

She unwrapped it slowly, being careful with it as it felt heavy and fragile. It was glass cylinder as tall as a spray can but a bit thicker. George reached his hand out and tapped the top of the cylinder three times. There was a small pop within the glass and then colours began to appear. Soon, a tiny rainbow tornado began to swirl around inside the glass.

"I knew how much you liked the one from the Pigment Puffs. I figured I would try and make you your own less dangerous version."

"George it's-it's beautiful. Thank you." She looked up at him to see him smile.

"I'm glad you like it." She closed the bit of space between them and kissed him gently.

"I love it." She said softly.

They went to sit down on the floor together, Minka's tornado whirling away in front of her. Molly handed both Minka and George their own gifts from her and Arthur.

George had been given a homemade knitted scarf while Minka had been given a homemade knitted beanie. She absolutely loved it.

"How'd she even manage to make this for me?" She asked George.

"My mum practically breathes knitting and sewing around Christmas. She probably started it the moment you arrived." He began to pull slightly at his new scarf around his neck, the itch from the fabric already starting.

"So, glad you came home for Christmas?" She asked him as the hot chocolate began to float around the room to be served to everyone. He leaned in and kissed her.

"It's better than I could have imagined."


	11. Chapter 11

**Wrecked**

Minka took a hard swallow as she folded the last of her clothes and shoved them into her bag. She zipped it up with a little more force than necessary.

A pair of hands reached around from behind her and held her hands gently. A pair of lips kissed the back of her head.

"Don't worry. Nothing will happen to you." George spoke softly into her hair.

"I'm not worried about me…well, maybe a little. But, I'm more worried about you and Daphne."

"Minka, he's just one person. And if you haven't forgotten, I can handle myself. And Daphne can certainly handle herself."

Minka turned around slowly and hugged him tightly.

"You've been so good to me. So has your family. Yesturday was one of the best Christmases I've had in a long time."

They stood like that more a while, enjoying each other's embrace.

"You know…we don't have to go back right away." He pulled away a little to look into her eyes. "Maybe we could go somewhere."

"I have to face this George. You said it yourself; I need to control my own life. And I want to go back to my shop and run it the way I want and trust Daphne because I know she's a good person and after work I want to go out with you and snog in some corner of town."

George let out a small laugh. "Sounds like a plan to me." He bent down and kissed her slowly and passionately. Minka began to shake her head back and forth and pushed him away gently.

"Keep that up, and we won't be heading back for a while."

"Well, in that case." He quickly grabbed her outer thighs and hoisted her up so her legs were wrapped around his waist. He turned them so he could sit on the bed with her in his lap. It all happened so fast, all Minka could do was gasp. "I better keep it up."

She felt herself grin as she moved in to kiss him again. His hands moved up and down her legs slowly and methodically, sending a shiver up her spine. She slowly inched her way down to kiss his neck, hearing him do a small gasp of his own.

"AHEM!" The voice was so loud and deliberate, Minka shot up as fast as she could. She stumbled a little and then turned in the direction of the person clearing their throat. It was Bill.

"We're heading out now if you'd like to come say goodbye." He said it so casually, it was as if he hadn't noticed Minka's reddening face and George's frustrated glare. He gave a cheery smile before disappearing back down the stairs.

"It must be nice…being an only child." George muttered as he stood up. Minka held back her smile as George pulled her bag over his shoulder with frustration still eminent in his attitude.

A loud tapping echoed across the room from the far window as they were about to leave the room. They turned to see an owl hooting and tapping in hysterics at the window.

"That's one of my store owls." George's voice was now filled with confusion. Minka walked over and pulled the window open. The bird darted past her and practically charged at George. It wiggled it's leg at him as it perched on his shoulder, still hooting as loud as it could.

"Okay, okay!" George, tried to brush the owl off his shoulder. The owl nipped at his ear angrily and then flew out the window just as fast as it had come in. "What the hell got into him?" He unrolled the letter and began to read. His expression began to change into a mask of complete horror and what seemed like panic.

"We have to go. Now." He shoved the paper into his pocket and stuck his head out the bedroom door. "Bye! See you all soon!" He ran over to Minka and grabbed her hand tightly.

"What's going on? What happened?"

"Something has happened to your store." And without another word, he apparated them back to Diagon Alley.

…..

A silence seemed to hang in the air. It was as if no one wanted to speak until Minka said something. But she didn't, she remained silent as she stepped up to her store. The door hung sadly from one hinge, the only reason it hadn't fallen completely off is because if leaned against the door frame slightly. She peered inside to see displays were smashed, the register dumped over. Glass from the shattered windows mixed with the different coloured glass from her destroyed Dream Catchers. The sign for her store lay in splinters across the Alley.

Minka held her hand out and touched the door carefully. As if it was waiting for that, it released itself from the last hinge and collapsed to the ground with a bang. Minka stepped over the door carefully and felt the first crunch under her shoes as she walked around the store through the glass. Shelves had been knocked over and all the paperwork had either been torn into pieces or had been flung around the room. She looked down at the register to see that it had been cleaned out.

She made her way to the back of the store towards the stairs. A few boxes had been knocked over and her desk flipped. A part of her brain seemed to sigh in some relief as there were still plenty of boxes with Dream Catchers untouched. She turned back around to see George; she hadn't realized he had come in.

"The Enforcement Patrol is here. They would like to speak with you."

Minka nodded and stepped past him to head back outside. Sure enough, there was a patrol officer outside talking to one of the people who worked at George's store, Mark. Mark had been the one who had sent them the letter and came to talk to them when they arrived.

When the officer was finished, he walked over to Minka. Sympathy was written all over his face.

"Hello, Ms. Maye. My understanding is that you haven't been to your store in several days." She nodded. "Do you have any idea who may have done this?"

"I have a few theories."

The patrol officer simply waited for her to answer. Minka let in a huge breath and huffed it out.

"I have an ex boyfriend who isn't exactly happy that I left him. He attacked me a few days ago before I left. I doubt he did this on his own. But the only other theory I can think of is that a lot of people aren't too happy about me setting up my store here."

"Do you know of anyone specifically who didn't?"

"A few people made themselves known particularily. I don't know any names exactly. I only moved here in September."

As the officer continued to ask questions, a few other officers went inside to investigate. They came back out a few minutes later. They too looked at Minka with sympathy.

"They cloaked themselves somehow that we could not get exact identities or faces when casting charms. We could tell that there were several of them, all men."

"We'll continue to keep an eye out for this Killian, and you let us know straight away if you see him." They gave her a few more precautions as a few of the officers began to use spells to put the store back together.

Once the officers had left to scout out the rest of the Alley, she went to go step back into her store. All the stands, shelves, windows and the door had been fixed and were upright again. Most of the Dream Catchers had reattached themselves. She opened one up to see that their enchantment had been broken and it was simply an empty box. She held it in her hands lazily and dropped it into the trash can beside her.

"Can't you just redo the spells on them?" George asked.

"Once it breaks, it undoes the enchantments and they don't work the same anymore after. I've tried before." She pulled her wand out and gave it a wave. All of the Dream Catchers began to float in a single line and plopped into the trash can one by one.

"Minka, I'm so sorry."

"Why? It's not like you did it." She felt her voice come out a little sharper than she intended. She took a deep breath and turned to him slowly. "I'm sorry too." She said softly. He took a few steps toward her and placed a hand on her back. She leaned in and rested her head on his chest, just wanting to forget it all for a moment.

"Do you think Killian did this?"

"No. He just takes what he wants or threatens to get what he wants. Trashing my store wouldn't get him anywhere."

There was a hiccup of silence as they both seemed to think.

"Come on, let's go get some tea." He took her hand in his and they headed down the street towards the coffee shop. Unknowing to them, someone began to follow.


	12. Chapter 12

**Shouting, Touching, Dancing**

"Come on, let's go." Daphne's voice came out impatiently and annoyed.

"Go where?" Minka didn't even glance up from her work. She sat hunched over at her desk, ignoring the aching feeling in her back from sitting for too long.

"Because you've been sitting up here for weeks working."

"Well that's generally how you stay in business."

Daphne's heels clicked across the floor defiantly. She ripped the tools out of Minka's hands, forcing her to look up.

"Hey!"

"Hiding up here behind your projects isn't going to make me go away just the same as it's not going to make any of your problems go away." Daphne held the tools away a bit so Minka couldn't get them back.

"I'm not hiding, I'm just trying to replace all of the merchandise that was des-"

"Don't feed me that rubbish. We have way more Dream Catchers than we could possibly imagine and three new ones. Business is doing better than ever but you wouldn't know that by the way you hide up here. You also don't know that there is a very handsome ginger across the way horribly worried about you. He's too chicken to give you this tough love speech so…it was up to me." Daphne's glare from lecturing was almost comical. Minka scrunched her lips, trying not to laugh.

"Okay, I get it. I'm shutting everyone out again." Minka came out from behind the desk and stood in front of Daphne. "I'm sorry. It's cowardly and I'm not proud of it. I'll stop."

"Good. Because you also don't know that that very handsome ginger is going to be at a club tonight for a party that I was also invited to. And you will be my plus one. Then maybe you can be his plus one to his bedroom."

"Daphne!" Daphne simply laughed and headed back down the stairs.

"Everything's closed up. I'll meet you at your place in an hour. Dress…fit." And with that, Daphne was gone.

An hour later, Minka had tried to doll herself up as much as she could. She needed to make up for the time she had wasted hiding up in her office. She would start with George, who would hopefully still be talking to her and still be interested.

She wore a light grey, knee length halter dress that was backless. A grey silk band went around the waist to cinch it. She paired it with metallic high heels and twisted her hair into an elaborate up-do. A few loose tendrils of hair hung down.

Sure enough, Daphne came knocking on her door. She was wearing a strapless, knee high dress with ruching, the deep purple made her olive skin completely glow. Her heels made her stand even taller than her already modelesque height.

"Wow, Daphne."

Daphne put a hand on her hip and gave a dramatic look to the ceiling.

"Yeah, I know." She shrugged a shoulder and then smiled. "You look fantastic too. George is going to love it."

Daphne apparated them to the club called 'The Newt.' Music vibrated through the walls and echoed down the street. Daphne flashed an invitation to the wizard at the door. She linked arms with Minka just as his eyes fell on her.

"She's with me!" She shouted as the music blared out the open door. The man nodded and let them through. They found themselves standing at the front of the club. The dance floor was filled with couples and groups dancing close and intimate. The stage behind the crowd was filled with different instruments. They all floated in the air, playing without an actual person. A woman was in the middle of the stage, her arms waving with the different beats, clearly controlling the music being formed.

Daphne tugged Minka over to the bar that was off to the side. She tapped the shoulder of someone sitting on a stool. He turned around, and his eyes lit up seeing Daphne. He got up to hug her. The hug seemed so personal, Minka felt herself blush and look away.

His skin was so pale, the colours bouncing around the room reflected off him vibrantly. Freckles dotted every inch of visible skin. His hair was clipped short to his head and she assumed it was brown but couldn't be sure with all the technicolour in the club. He wore a black collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up. It fit him quite well. They exchanged a few sentences at each other, all the while grinning.

Daphne turned to Minka and then pulled her forward.

"This is my friend Minka! Minka, this is Seamus! This is his party!" She shouted.

"Hello, Minka! Nice to meet you!" His words curved with an irish accent, causing Minka's stomach to tighten. She immediately felt guilty. She couldn't group an entire country as dangerous thanks to one git she met. It was stupid and she kicked herself mentally for even being scared in the first place. She wouldn't run from her fears anymore, and she certainly wouldn't cower from things that weren't even a danger. She put on the biggest smile she could muster and shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you! Great party!"

"Thank you! No idea who half these people are!" He leaned in to speak close to her ear, a hand resting on her arm. She recognized this movement. She quickly leaned away from him and laughed, attempting to hide her discomfort. Daphne seemed to be unphased by this exchange despite their intimate hug earlier.

"I'm going to go find George!" She said to Daphne.

"George Weasley?" Seamus asked. Minka nodded.

"He's out there somewhere, dancing." He waved a hand to gesture to the crowd. "My friend asked him."

Minka felt a pang a jealousy hit her hard. Seamus seemed to notice. Daphne leaned in to Seamus to explain.

"Minka sort of has this whole having issues confessing each other's true feelings, sexual tension type thing going on with him." He sucked in some air and shook his head like it was something he saw all the time.

"Brutal! Want me to help?" He offered.

"How?"

"You know, we could pull a switch! I'll distract the girl and you go swoop in and work your…"

"Broody charm!" Daphne offered to finish his sentence. Minka glared at both of them, but ultimately agreed.

She took Seamus' hand and he led her out onto the dance floor. They began to dance together to the beat of the music.

"So tell me, Daphne still available?" He asked, hope glistening in his eyes.

"As far as I know! She works for me so I don't know much about her social life!"

"Taking her boss to a party? Risky business! Then again, Daphne was never one to follow the rules."

"I definitely know that much about her!"

Minka got lost in the music for a moment, forgetting how good it felt to dance. She put a hand on Seamus' shoulder only because the crowd was huge and she didn't want to accidently lose him in the crowd.

They both began to scope the floor for George. Seamus eventually caught him dancing-sure enough-with a girl Minka had never seen before. George looked mildly uncomfortable as she danced with her back facing him. Minka couldn't help but laugh at the look on his face.

"Okay, here we go!" Seamus yelled. He grabbed both her hands and they slowly began to dance closer and closer to them.

Instantaniously, as if they had done it before, they broke off and Seamus began to dance with the girl, who responded easily. He took one of her hands and twirled her so she was pulled away from George. She seemed to be okay with this as she knew Seamus.

Minka stood behind George's tall frame as he watched his dance partner being pulled away. She took a breath and then reached a hand up to touch his shoulder. He turned to look at her. He went from surprise to confusion.

"Hi." She said timidly.

"Hey." His eyes drifted from her face to her dress, seeming to drink her in. A wave of self-conscious brushed over her for a moment.

"Dance with me?" She asked, unsure of what else to do. He quickly looked back into her eyes and nodded. Minka immediately got back into the rhythm of the song, just letting everything go. She didn't worry about if she looked stupid, or about the store, or about Killian. She took this moment to just enjoy two things: the music and George. For a while, she kept her eyes closed, just concentrating on the beat of the song. She felt George's hands hold her waist gently, and felt his hips bump into hers every now and then. She opened her eyes to look up into his. He was smiling down at her. Minka let out a small laugh as they continued to dance, having more fun than she had had in a while. He leaned in closely to her. Minka automatically putting her hands on his shoulders.

"You're a great dancer. And you look beautiful. If I wasn't holding you right now I think about ten guys would have tried to cut in."

Minka laughed and leaned into his ear.

"Thank you, but I think I'll stick with you." She felt his cheek rise from smile. His head bent a little and kissed her shoulder. She felt herself intake a sharp breath, goose bumps rising on her skin despite the heat of the club.

She pulled back to look into his eyes. Familiar flairs of passion swirled in her mind and body. His look of intensity seemed to mean he was in a similar state of mind. Minka tried to clamp down on it, knowing this wasn't the time and place and then continued to dance.

They danced for a long time, simply enjoying the silence of their troubled minds. The heat eventually became too much and they were out of breath. George grabbed her hand and lead her over to the bar. He ordered them something that Minka couldn't hear over the music. Whatever it was he ordered, Minka found it delicious as she sipped at it slowly.

"I wanted to say I was sorry. I keep hurting you, and I don't mean to."

"It's okay, Minka."

"No! It's not! You're there for me, and I need to start treating you like someone I trust. Because you are." Minka felt herself blush and pulled back from his ear. Saying she trusted him was just as hard as saying she loved someone. She let it slip and she felt self-conscious all over again. She had told him not long ago that she didn't want to touch on the serious parts of a relationship and here she was, offering one of the biggest things you can offer: trust.

"Hey, I trust you too." He brought on hand up and tucked the now several loose strands of her hair behind her ear. She smiled nervously. "And I know that means a lot to you. So I'm not taking it lightly that you do." He added. They looked at each other for a moment longer and then Minka snapped out a little.

"You want to dance again?" She offered.

"Sur-"

"George! It's time!" Seamus yelled, putting a hand on George's shoulder.

"Okay! I'll meet you outside!" Seamus nodded and disappeared back into the crowd.

"What's going on?" Minka asked. She felt the rasp in her throat. She wasn't going to have a voice tomorrow.

"You'll see!" He set his drink down and tapped on the bar. The bartender came over and George leaned over to ask him something. They nodded and ducked down behind the bar. He came back up with a large duffel bag. George thanked him and slung the bag over his shoulder with a little trouble. He held his hand out to Minka, which she took.

"Follow me, Ms. Maye." They began to head for the door when the music came to a hault.

"Cheers everyone for coming out to the party tonight! My friend has offered up his valuable services of his infamous firework displays if everyone would care to take a step outside." Seamus said from the stage.

The crowd made an unanimous cheer and all began to crowd for the door.

A while later, they were out on the field behind the club. Everyone began to form a large circle around Minka and George as he began to pull different fireworks out of the duffel bag.

"Another Weasley Wizard Weazes specialty?" She asked, looking around at the crowd.

"You got it! I managed to make one that doesn't need to be set off individually but rather in one long timed continuous light." He lit the end of it and then grabbed Minka's hand, running back into the crowd.

Everyone waited in anticipation for the fireworks to start. After a little too long, nothing seemed to go off.

"That's odd…it should have-" _BOOM!_

The first firework went off with such force, it practically knocked everyone to the ground. It lit up the light sky practically as bright as the sun. Everyone cheered as the rest went off in a perfect rhythm.

Minka found her arms wrapped around George's waist, her head resting on his chest as they watched them go off.

"They're beautiful, George."

"Thank you. So hey, how about I take you on a real date? We haven't had one of those yet." He leaned in close to her ear, whispering into it. This was unnecessary now that they weren't in the club, but she enjoyed his closeness. She felt her eyes close briefly from his breath on her ear.

"Sounds good." Her voice came out a little shaky, which she tried to cover up by clearing her throat.

He then kissed her slowly and methodically as the fireworks crackled above them.


	13. Chapter 13

**Take a Closer Look**

"Minka! Over here!" George's voice came out in a loud rasp. Attempting to not cause too much attention to his voice. Minka followed the voice in the shadows. She eventually saw his silhouette behind a pillar and quickly ran to it, avoiding the light of the street.

"You know, when you said we would be going on a date, I didn't think that also meant breaking into a building." She muttered to him.

"Relax, I do this all the time."

"Not exactly helping me relax."

They stood behind a pillar that connected to one of the buildings in a town Minka wasn't familiar with. The roads were made of cobble and every house and building was made of marble that gleamed in the moonlight.

George turned to Minka and kissed her hard and fierce. Minka felt herself panic for a moment, thinking this wasn't the time and place. But the adrenaline from trying to hide soon began to find its way to her lips, and she felt herself kiss back just as fierce.

After a few minutes, they broke apart. She couldn't see his face in the dark lighting and simply focused on the sound of their jagged breathing and his hands entangled in her hair. He slowly brought one of his hands back and slid it down her cheek, sending tingles right down to her toes.

"Besides…" He began to say, making Minka jump from the sudden noise. "it's technically not a building."

She felt her face twist in confusion, knowing it was washed out from the darkness. He tugged on her hand and they made their way around the building and were now on the outskirts of the town. Fields went on for miles, but just a few feet away from them lay a very large tent. It stretched out into the sky, making all of the buildings in town look like doll houses. Lights were shining every which way from inside, and several smaller tents dotted the ground next to it. People were walking from tent to tent.

"Welcome to the circus."

"Circus?"

"You've never been to a wizard circus before? My dad used to take us when we were younger. I come back every now and then." Minka stood in awe for a moment, watching the lights dance around in the night sky.

"So…we're not breaking into anywhere?" She looked up into his gleaming face. She could now see the flush in his face, the area around his lips particularly red. She brought a hand up to smooth down her hair, knowing she looked just as flustered.

"No."

"Then why were we sneaking around in the night like we were going to rob somewhere?"

George laughed and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, guiding her towards the tents.

"Just wanted to have a bit of fun is all." Minka rolled her eyes but couldn't help but smile. George took her through the circus, explaining the different attractions and shows as they watched. Minka was utterly fascinated the whole time. As amazing as the shows were, she found herself studying George's face more closely than the shows. She could see the excitement that radiated off of him like a live wire. And yet, it never touched his eyes. They remained calm and almost sad. She started to wonder that maybe it wasn't excitement after all, it almost seemed like nerves.

'_What could he be so nervous about?' _She asked herself several times over, too afraid to say anything out loud.

Later in the night, George handed a coin to a man who had a basket of sticks. The man plucked one of the sticks out of the basket and handed it to George, who in turn handed it to Minka.

"Uhm…thank you." Minka's voice faultered in appreciation, unsure of what he had handed to her. As she felt it between her fingertips, she realized it wasn't a stick, but a stem. As her mind clicked, the top of the stem began to move and grow into a bud. She looked up at George, who was biting his lip in what seemed to be anxiety. She looked back down at the budding flower just as it made a light popping noise. She was now holding a perfectly bloomed red rose.

"It's always a real joy when I see a red one." Said the man with the basket of stems. George let out a breath she didn't realize he was holding.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"The rose this young man just bought you is very special. The colour it blooms when given to someone is a symbol of your true feelings for one another. White is friendship. Pink is unrequited love. And purple is lust. This flower will never wilt as long as your relationship remains strong."

"What does red mean?" George asked. The man simply winked. Minka and George both blushed, avoiding eye contact with one another. George gave him one more coin and took another stem.

"What? Want to double check?" she asked him.

"I have something else I'd like us to do tonight. The main reason I brought you here tonight." He started to guide her towards the far end of the circus where the tents and people started to become fewer and fewer.

"It's high time you met someone." His voice was so low and quiet, Minka strained to hear it.

"Who?"

Her question was answered when they arrived at the fence the circus was enclosed in. There was a flat stone that was carved into the shape of a circus tent. All around it were flowers, some planted and others placed near it. Two candles floated delicately on either side of the stone and Minka realized there was an enscription on the stone.

Her stomach did a large flip as it all came together in her mind. It wasn't just a stone; it was a grave.

"Minka…this is-"

"Fred." She finished in a whisper. The enscription read

'_Frederick Weasley _

_Beloved son and brother _

_He will always make us smile'_

George knelt by his brother's grave and placed the stem in front of the stone. The flower bloomed slowly into the colour blue. Minka felt her heart stutter. She remembered what the man had said. It blooms with mutual feeling. Which means…Fred was responding.

"Hi Fred, I miss you too."

"Blue means…lost love."

George nodded.

"It's for love that isn't gone, just…unable to move forward.." his voice trailed off as his eyes continued to stare at the grave.

Minka knelt slowly beside George and turned to look at the grave.

"Hi Fred. It's so nice to finally meet you." She placed her hand over George's.

"Fred loved the circus. He always loved coming here, even after our father stopped taking us. I knew…I knew this is where he'd want to be. Not in some boring old cemetery, but the place that made him smile…made him laugh." He took in a harsh breath. "I haven't been here since the funeral. I haven't…"

Minka turned to George and placed her hand on his cheek, making him look at her.

"Fred knows better than anyone why you haven't. Don't do this to yourself." There was a long pause as George looked into her eyes and then finally nodded. "Besides, this is something good. I'm finally meeting your brother. What was he like?"

"Fred? Much more trouble than me. He was definitely the one went looking for trouble. He always found the best kind, and I always followed."

They sat for hours, George recollecting different stories of Fred and himself growing up. Minka found herself in tears most of the time from laughing.

She was clutching at her stomach as she leaned forward, loud guffaws of laughter coming from both of them. A few tears were even in George's eyes. She watched as his face suddenly went from being happy to cringing. His mouth coiled into a different shape, no longer smiling. He lowered his head, taking in a sharp inhale. He was crying.

Minka closed the space between them and cradled his head in her lap. She stroked his hair away from his face and simply let him cry. She felt her own tears begin to well behind her eyelids, hating how much he was hurting.

"He was my twin, Minka. I can't even…put into words how lost I've felt."

"And I can't even begin to imagine it. Even just thinking about it feels like my heart is being crushed. But…this isn't what Fred would want for you. We can't exactly know what he would have wanted but I know for absolute certain he wouldn't want you to keep hurting like this. What was the one thing Fred was flawless at?" She paused. "Making people laugh." She leaned down and kissed his temple. "And you have such a beautiful laugh. My only wish is that I could hear it more."

They sat there in silence for a while longer. Minka wasn't sure, but she thought he may have fallen asleep after a while.

"Thank you." He suddenly whispered. He sat up and looked at her. She began to wipe the tears from his face. "We seem to be diving into a lot of emotional territory."

"I'm okay with that."

"Really?" His face lit up the slightest bit.

"Really." She leaned in to kiss him when someone cleared their throat behind them.

"Sorry George, but we're closing up for the night."

"That's okay. We were just leaving."

They made their way to the exit of the circus with the crowd of people also leaving. Minka squeezed George's hand tightly the whole way home, feeling all the more closer to him.

"Thank you, for introducing me to your brother. I feel like I know a lot more about the both of you."

"You're welcome. I think he really likes you."

They exchanged a few more goodbyes and gave each other one more soft kiss before Minka stepped into her flat for the evening. George went home feeling much lighter than he had in years. It was as if the weight of his brother's death had slightly lifted from his fatigued shoulders. He knew then that he was falling in love with Minka.


End file.
